


You're My Partner

by louandhaz



Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-06 20:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 41,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11608773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/louandhaz/pseuds/louandhaz
Summary: A familiar but different Digimon suddenly appeared in the Digital World, and it's existence is disrupting the world. Furthermore, it's targeting a certain Chosen Child. (Set after 02 but before the epilogue!)





	1. A Familiar Digimon

_It was night when he awoke. He didn't know where he was. He didn't even know who he was. But there was one thing he did know..._

_He felt numb._

_Ever since he had awoken, he could only feel numbness spreading through his body. He feels as if he doesn't have a heart. As if... as if he doesn't have any purpose._

_Oh, he has power, of course. Lot's of them. Enormous. He knew he could destroy this world, wherever that is, if he wanted to._

_But he doesn't feel the need to._

_No. What he needs is..._

_..._

_He doesn't even know what he needs._

_But he will find out._

_Yes. And he will claim what he needs._

_Even if he has to use everything in his power; he will search, find, and claim the thing that he needs the most._

_And he will die trying._

* * *

_Darkness surrounded him. It was pitch black. He couldn't see or hear anything. He wasn't scared but he was feeling anxious._

_"Where am I?"_

_As soon as those words came out of his mouth, he felt a presence suddenly appearing behind him. His big and messy brown hair blew as he immediately turned around. The presence had a shadow, but not a physical body. He could see the shadow because it has lighter color texture than everything around him. A bit greyish._

_"Wh, what are you?" He asked carefully. Even though he was the bravest out of his friends, over the past few years he had learned to cool his head and try not to act rashly._

_The shadow slowly but surely approach him. He took a step back. "Answer me!" He demanded with a firmer voice. The shadow stopped automatically, as if it was obeying him._

_**"I..."** _

_He frowned. "It talks?"_

_**"I need..."** _

_"What was that?"_

_**"I need your..."** _

_"My...?"_

_**"Your light..."** _

_Taichi's eyes widened. The shadow starts to approach him again, but with a much faster pace this time. The messy haired boy instinctively took a few steps back, but before he could do anything more, a part of the shadow grabbed his leg causing him to fall onto his back._

_"Ouch... damn it, what the hell!" And suddenly, the shadow was on his face._

_Taichi gulped. He tried to back away from the shadow while trying to remain calm. He was scared alright, but he wasn't the bearer of the Crest of Courage for nothing._

_"What do you want from me?" He asked, voice trembling ever so lightly. But the shadow didn't give him any answer._

_Then suddenly Taichi was engulfed by a dark red light that came out of it. He suddenly felt overwhelmed by fatigue before he fell backwards and landed on his back._

_The last thing he heard as he was driven to unconsciousness was his name being called by a familiar voice..._

_"TAICHIIII!"_

* * *

"Onii-chan! Wake up, or you'll be late for school!" called Yagami Hikari, the younger sibling of the family, while shaking her brother's arm.

"Onii-chan!" She called for the second time before she heard her brother grumbling.

"Ngrh... time's it...?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand, trying to get the sleepiness out of them.

"Seven fifteen." Well that woke him up.

"What!? Damn it, Hikari, why'd you wake me up so early!? I thought you said I was going to be late!" He sat up quickly, annoyed.

"But you don't have school today. Or any other day, at least until high school starts." Hikari raised her eyebrow, clearly not happy with her brother's statement. "I knew you would forget what today is! Mou, and I only just reminded you yesterday!" Taichi blinked. What was toda- _Ohhhhh..._

"Ohhhh..."

"Hmm? Is that a look of realization I see?"

"Uhh-" "Ah! And now a look of guilt! Really, how much of a half-wit can you be, Onii-chan?" She put her hands on her hips while huffing.

"Look, I didn't forget anything, alright?" Taichi leaned back on his hand while the other starts to scratch his hair. "I knew it was the anniversary of BlackWarGreymon's death soon, I just didn't know when it was!"

Then the Yagami siblings went silent.

BlackWarGreymon... He was a Digimon, originally created by Archnimon to destroy both the Chosen Children and the Digital World. But in the end he had protected both. He died a hero.

After a few more seconds passed, Taichi almost fell back when he realized his sister's face was only centimeters away from his. "That's called forgetting, Onii-chan! You forgot the date!" She said before standing up straight. "Now put your clothes on! We need to go to Koushirou-san's house so we can have that picnic in the Digital World." The short haired girl smiled at her last statement before walking out of her brother's room.

"Does it have to be this early, though?" Taichi sighed.

He stood up and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and take a morning shower. He didn't know why, but he was feeling rather tired lately. His mother told him she had seen him a few times this week tossing and turning in his sleep. She said it looked like he was having nightmares, but _he_ couldn't even remember what his dreams were about. The soccer lover gave a thought for a few more seconds before shaking his head and went out of the bathroom. "No use thinking about it anyways. Besides, I have to focus on today."

Right. Today. It was a day to be even more grateful. He had a picnic, no, a reunion to attend to and he was going to finally meet his friends after a long time.

After that whole fiasco with the new Chosen Children VS the revived-and-even-more-ugly Vamdemon was over, Taichi had begun his third year in middle school so he had to focus on his studies more (courtesy of his mother). Because of that, he could only visit his partner, Agumon and the rest of the Digimon in the Digital World at least twice a month. His friends were busy too. Yamato, his best friend was busy with studying and band practice. Sora, his childhood friend was busy with studying, tennis club and tending to her family's flower shop. Koushirou, his old buddy' old pal was busy with studying, computers, studying about the computers and the Digital World, and (not surprising) mentoring Taichi on math. Old reliable Joe was (another unsurprising fact) busy studying in general or for tests while Mimi was in America, but she has her own busy things.

Takeru and Hikari were the only two out of the original Chosen Children to still dutifully visit the Digital World alongside the new Chosen Children meaning Daisuke, Miyako, Iori and Ken.

But now that their exams are over, they can finally rest for a while. Not to mention all of them (aside from Jyou and Koushirou) has been accepted to the same high school. Now they all get to enjoy their holidays. Which was why they decided now it was the right time for a full reunion where all the Chosen Children, original and new, can gather.

Thankfully, there won't be any awkward moments since Yamato and Sora broke up after three months of dating. They liked each other, sure. But they both had busy schedules and decided it's not worth the trouble, so they decided to mutually end their relationship.

Months after that, about three weeks ago before the big exams, Taichi finally gave up on bottling his feelings and worked up his courage to confess to his childhood friend, best friend, ex-teammate, and finally crush, Sora Takenouchi. Yes, he was the Child of Courage and he shouldn't have to work up anything for the occasion, but this is _Sora_ we're talking about. Not to mention she was his best friend's girlfriend (thankfully Yamato had given him his blessings for that).

So he had confessed to her. On the bench at the park near his apartment, after the two of them had shared a nostalgic game of soccer. Sora obviously won because of her skills but Taichi denied (in his head) that he lost because he was too concentrated on her face rather than on the ball. The red hair was surprised but looked pleased nonetheless to be confessed to, especially by Taichi (What do you mean, _especially_ , Sora!?), but she hadn't given him an answer.

She had said, _'I need time, Taichi. Will you wait?'_ The boy in question almost drowned in disappointment because _'nothing good comes to those who wait!'_ was his principle. Yet he was given hope when he saw the smile and small blush on his Sora's (no, not his! ...yet) face. So he answered her by saying _'Yeah... yeah, I'll wait.'_ It's not like he can do anything about it.

* * *

They have arrived at Koushirou's house a bit early it seems, seeing as the people who had arrived were only half of what they had expected. There were Taichi, Koushirou, Hikari, Daisuke, Miyako, Iori and Ken gathered in Koushirou's room. The new Chosen Children's Digimon, Demiveemon, Poromon, Upamon, Minomon and Tailmon were on Koushirou's bed, happily munching on snacks given by his mother.

"I thought we're all supposed to be here at _eight._ " grumbled the leader. He was leaning on his best friend's bed while crossing his arms.

"Maa, maa. Maybe they got caught in traffic." The red haired said while setting up his computer. "Why don't you finish the drink my Okaa-san made while you wait, Taichi-san." Taichi grumbled again, but he gulped his drink nonetheless.

"By the way, I just got an e-mail from Yamato-san. He said he was on his way with Takeru-kun and Sora-san, but his tire broke." Koushirou told the group.

"Onee-sama said she was going to be late because her alarm clock was broken and she slept in late." Said Miyako with a cheerful voice, as if she was proud of Mimi.

Iori, the youngest of the group who was on the phone announced, "Jyou-san just called. He pretty much slept in late as well." making Taichi groan.

"Seriously? I thought we agreed to come here early so we can spend more time with our Digimon. Even Ken who lives in Tamachi managed to arrive earlier than me!" Ken only blinked at his name being mentioned.

"Maa, maa. Calm down Onii-chan, how about we play a game while we wait." suggested Hikari. Hearing Hikari's statement made Daisuke, the leader of the new Chosen Children groan. "Man, Hikari-chan, we already played board games for almost an hour now. I'm bored!"

Hikari raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you suggest we do, Daisuke-kun?" She was happy with the more mature Daisuke now. Ever since he stated that he had moved on from his crush on her, the boy seemed a lot more tolerable. The minus side is that he still likes to complain a lot.

At the girl's question, Daisuke grinned and jumped up to stand. "I suggest we go to the Digital World right now!" The room went silent.

Then,

"What?" Daisuke stared back at the group who was staring at him for the last minute. "It's better than to wait here for another hour, which, if we count Jyou-san's usual lateness and Mimi-san's make up session, that will totally happen!"

The boy with the goggle was suddenly grabbed by his purple haired friend. "Hey! Don't insult Onee-sama!" "But it's true!"

"Now, now, guys- no reason to fight!" Taichi reasoned while holding his successor back while Hikari was doing the same to Miyako. "But Daisuke's got a point! Hey, Koushirou, maybe we could go ahead of them. I mean, you could leave your computer on and ask your mother to tell them to catch up with us by using Takeru's D-3."

After a few moments and encouragement from their now full Digimon, the group agreed on Taichi's suggestion.

"I suggested that first, though" complained Daisuke.

And they were off to the Digital World.

* * *

When the Chosen Children arrived at the Digital World, what they see is not what they were expecting.

"What the hell...?" Taichi asked to no one in particular.

"What the?" Daisuke continued after his predecessor. "What's going on here? I thought we're going on a picnic in the day time!"

"It's day time, alright. Apparently there's a massive fog that's covering a whole area in the Digital World and we're in it." Said Koushirou after checking his laptop. Taichi frowned as he turned to look around him after glancing at Koushirou for his explanation. The Digital World which was supposed to be bright and full of snow was so dark like it was night time. Is something threatening this world again? Does the Chosen Children need to save it again? But if so, then who is their enemy this time?

"Geez! And we came all this way for a vacation too! What happened while we were gone?" Complained Miyako while flailing the picnic basket in the sky, causing her partner Digimon to panic.

"Calm down, Miyako-san! Oh, no! You'll ruin the food that way!"

"Mou! I wouldn't do that, Poromon! This is the food we especially made for today, so there's no way I would ruin it." The glasses girl huffed.

"Why did she say 'we', Daisuke? Doesn't she mean Hikari-chan?" Demiveemon innocently asked his partner. Daisuke tensed. " _Gahhh_ , Demiveemon you weren't supposed to say that!" The boy with the goggles hissed down at his Digimon before he felt a presence behind him.

"What was that, Daisuke-kun~?" Miyako then grabbed the front of her leader's jacket. "I helped as much as Hikari-chan, you know! Didn't you know I slept late last night because of that? Huh? Huh!?"

"But I didn't say anything! It was Demiveemon! Hikari-chan, heeelpp!" Poromon and Demiveemon sweat dropped at their partners' antics.

Meanwhile, Taichi, Hikari, Ken, Koushirou and their respective Digimon partners were sitting on a circle while staring at Koushirou's laptop. "Weird... If something did happen, Gennai-san should've emailed me." murmured the red hair while putting on his thinking pose.

"Maybe something happened to Gennai-san too?" Ken suggested.

Taichi, being the man of action stood up and said, "This area is supposed to be covered by Agumon and Tentomon, right? We need to find them first. And if there are any other Digimons on the way, we can ask them what's going on."

The others nodded. Daisuke and Miyako stopped their fighting and also nodded. The sooner they found out what's going on, the better.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

Sora, Yamato, Takeru and his Digimon, Patamon were finally on their way to Koushirou's house after the tire to Yamato's car were fixed. They were in a comfortable silence before a sound broke and not too long after, Takeru spoke up. "Guys, it's from Koushirou-san. It's about the Digital World." That immediately got the other three's attention.

"What did he say?" Asked Yamato while continuing to drive carefully.

"He said he and the others went and gone without us because they, meaning Daisuke, couldn't wait for us anymore." Sora and Patamon stifle a giggle while Yamato nodded.

"Understandable. And?"

They boy with the hat frowned as he read the rest of the email his friend had sent. "They don't know what's happening there yet, but a strange phenomenon has been happening. Right now they're trying to find Agumon and the rest to find out what's going on, so we need to get there ASAP."

"A phenomenon? Did he say anything about it?" His brother asked again. He shook his head. "Well, we better hurry up then." Yamato pushed the gas, worry was showing on his face as he wonders of Gabumon's safety.

Sora was also starting to get worried for her Biyomon, but for some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about Taichi. No, it's not about the confession or her answer. It's just she suddenly has a bad feeling and she thinks her childhood friend may be involved in something.

But it's just a feeling... right?

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

"FINALLY!" Taichi and the others stopped their tracks to look at Koushirou who was smiling at his laptop.

"What is it, Koushirou? Is it Gennai?" He asked while walking towards the red hair. He received a nod.

"Hai. He emailed me. It seems he had sent it a while ago, but I only received it just now."

Ken spoke up. "Is it because of the signal?" Koushirou gave a nod again. "Possibly, this fog is somehow messing with the signal around this area. Now let's see..." A few minutes went by before the bearer of the Crest of Knowledge gasped, causing everyone around him to tense up.

"What is it, Koushirou-san?" Daisuke impatiently asked.

"Gennai-san said that he, Agumon and Tentomon had found a black object in the underground near this area a while ago."

"So?"

"Agumon accidentally touched it-" "What?" Taichi spoke up when he heard his partner's name. "-and something happened. A black light burst out of the black object, and then it turned into a powerful and dangerous virus Digimon. It's presence is disrupting the balance in the Digital World and it's the thing that is creating this fog."

"So, we must destroy it?" Iori asked, uncertain.

Hikari gasped. "No! We can't!"

"But Hikari-san, that digimon is what is doing this to the Digital World. If this continues, the balance of this world will be disturbed, the sun may not show up again because of the fog, not to mention Gennai-san said that the Digimon is very powerful but also dangerous." Koushirou tried to reason.

"Still, it's a Digimon, right? We're the Chosen Children and we're supposed to protect and save the Digital World and everyone in it. Right, Daisuke?" She turned to the new leader.

Daisuke hesitated. "Well, it may be dangerous, but it doesn't mean that it's bad or anything, right?"

"But what if it's really bad?" Minomon spoke from Ken's arms.

"Onii-chan?" Hikari turned to her brother, grabbing his arm as she silently asks for back up. Taichi gave her a stare and she stared right back at him. The two of them stayed in that position until something flicker in his eyes and suddenly Hikari felt relieved. She knew she could always count on her brother.

The two then turned to their friends. "Like I said, we have to find Agumon and the others first. But now that we know what's going on, should we encounter with that Digimon, we have to fight it. Now, I'm not saying we should destroy it immediately, but we could try to reason with it. Maybe bring him to Gennai so we could work this all out" Taichi explained before turning back to his sister. "but Hikari, if anything goes wrong you have to remember that we're the Chosen and our main priority is to protect the Digital World and the Digimon, and this thing may _not_ be a Digimon. Okay?" _'Also, I'm your brother, and my main priority is to protect_ you _.'_ is his silent statement.

Hikari looks at her brother in the eyes for a few moments before nodding. "Okay." And she squeezed his arm gently before letting go, promising him that she would understand should the worst happen.

The other Chosen Children and their Digimon continued to watch the Yagami siblings' interaction before Miyako let out a whoop. "Alrighty then! Let's go kick some evil Digimon's butt!"

"But we don't know if it's evil or not yet!" The purple haired girl ignored Daisuke as she continues along her tracks. The others soon joined her.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

He felt numb.

Ever since he woke up he felt numb.

What is he? What is his purpose? What is his reason to being born in this world?

It's so dark. It's so numb.

He felt... Nothing...

What is this nothingness? This numbness... This...

...

...

...

...wait.

What is that?

He felt something.

A light.

There's a light!

He... He suddenly felt something. He doesn't know what it is, but he _felt_ something! And he likes it!

...

...he's going to get it.

That light could be the answer he was looking for. His... His purpose!

It's faraway from he is at right now, but... He can reach it. He _knows_ he can.

And suddenly, he was off the ground.

* * *

"Damn! It's been an hour, where are they?" Complained Daisuke while lying on the grass beside Ken, who was in a sitting position with the now digivolved Wormmon in his lap. The other Digimon have also digivolved because they've eaten the food for the picnic.

"Be patient, Daisuke. They should be here any minute now." Said the genius boy after swallowing a bite of sandwich. He was multi-tasking by feeding his Wormmon some cupcakes.

"Maybe the Digimon is disrupting the time balance as well?" Koushirou murmured to himself.

Taichi's successor only gave a huff. "At least we got our picnic. But the food's almost gone though, what about for Yamato-san and the others?" He asked.

"Don't worry. Mimi-sama and Sora-san will bring their share of food. The two of them and Hikari-chan and I agreed to make two baskets because of the majority of males here!" Miyako explained with a grin.

"Is she implying that males eat too much?" Iori whispered to Koushirou.

"I think so." He whispered back.

"Here, Tailmon, eat some more." The Child of Light said to Tailmon as she gives her a grilled cheese sandwich, which the feline Digimon accepted gratefully.

"I want some more too!" Said Veemon, cheerfully leaping out of nowhere. "Hey!" Hikari giggled at the two Digimon's antics before her gaze landed on her brother. Taichi was standing a couple feet from the group, looking at the landscape. She could tell that he was frowning.

"Onii-chan? Are you okay?" Taichi didn't seem to hear her. She decided to approach him, and when she opened her mouth to call out to him again she saw her brother's knees suddenly buckled.

"ONII-CHAN!" She screamed in horror as she instinctively reach forward to catch her brother who was about to collapsed backwards just now. Thankfully she managed to catch him.

"Wha- Hikari?" Hikari lowered Taichi to the ground carefully. It was hard to steady him at first because he has an athletic and well built body.

"Taichi-san! What's wrong? Why did you suddenly collapse like that?" Apparently Hikari's shout had alarmed all the present Chosen Children and their respective Digimon.

"Huh?"

"Taichi-san, are you alright?" Ken politely asked from behind Hikari, but you can hear the tone of worry from his voice. Taichi seemed to be in a daze but Ken's question snapped him out of it. "Shit- just..." He sat up, putting weight on his hand while he put the other hand to rub his face. He noticed something warm landed on his shoulders. They were Daisuke's hands and they were supporting him from behind so he doesn't fall backwards.

"Onii-chan." He heard Hikari's voice trembling. He removed his hand from his face to see his little sister's worried face. She was gripping his arm, afraid that he would fall again, just like Daisuke.

"Hey, I'm fine. I don't know why but I felt really dizzy just now. I'm alright now, though." He gave a quick smile but his sister didn't seem to be assured by that. Neither did the others.

"Maybe we should take you home." Iori suggests. "This fog could be the cause."

"No. We have to find Agumon and the others." Hikari was about to protest, so Taichi quickly came up with another excuse. "Didn't you hear what Koushirou said? He said that Gennai said that Agumon was the one to find the black object and he didn't say anything about what happened to him after that. I've got a feeling that he and the others are in trouble, and I won't rest until I find them or until I know for sure that they're safe!"

"But Onii-chan!"

"Damn it, Hikari-" "Hey guys! What is that?" Daisuke suddenly said from behind Taichi. He was pointing to the sky. Something was flying towards them at high speed. Something... black?

As the flying figure came closer, each of the Chosen Children and Digimon began to recognize it.

Gasps came from the Digimon and Miyako and Hikari.

"No way..." Taichi disbelievingly said.

"But how?" Koushirou spoke in horror and wonder.

"This can't be..." Iori trembled.

"Is it... really him?" Whispered Ken, mostly to himself.

The figure landed a few feet in front of the group.

It's cold eyes, yellow hair, and black armor, all screamed 's what they're afraid of. This thing. This Digimon, they can tell, is not who they had known a long time ago.

"But... But you're dead..." Daisuke exclaimed before raising his voice. "BLACKWARGREYMON!"

* * *

.

..

... **tbc**

**.**


	2. BlackWarGreymon's Target

"What is the meaning of this?" Koushirou questioned in horror. He should be excited, if not glad that BlackWarGreymon, the Digimon who had been an enemy but turned to be their comrade, was alive. He was the one who had sacrificed himself so Vamdemon could not enter the Digital World on their last battle after all. Heck, the reason the Chosen Children decided on a reunion was because today was _his_ death anniversary!

Yet, he couldn't, because it's _BlackWarGreymon._

He was a virus Digimon, created by Archnimon, not born from a digiegg. Plus, his cold eyes and dark aura reminded all of them of the first time they met him. The BlackWarGreymon who was meant to destroy them, not the one who decided to sacrifice himself for them.

"How... How are you alive?" demanded Iori while trembling. It seems he has the same opinion as his predecessor, but the virus Digimon ignored his questions as he made his way towards the group.

"Hey! Answer his question, you jerk!" yelled Miyako, causing her Digimon partner to hastily calm her down. "C, calm down, Miyako-san!"

"BlackWarGreyMon," Hikari started. "don't you remember us? We're your friends!" The girl's statement made him stop in his tracks.

It was silent for a few moments before he began to finally speak. "BlackWarGreymon? Is that my name?"

Hikari almost shivered at his cold and low voice, but she answers him nonetheless. "Yes. You... look as if you don't remember any of us."

"I don't."

"Do you remember what happened to you? How are you feeling?" It took another few moments before he answered again.

"I don't know. I don't remember. And I feel... numb."

"BlackWarGreymon-" "Enough with the questions!" He suddenly roared and the people and Digimon in front of him tensed.

"Hey, dude! She was only asking how you were!" Daisuke pointed at him.

"I don't care. But what I do care is..." He trailed off while looking around to each faces of the humans in front of him before focusing on the slightly breathless one.

"You."

He pointed at their original leader.

Each of the Chosen Children and Digimons present eyes went wide.

"Ta, Taichi-san!?"

 _'What could he possibly want from me?'_ thought Taichi. He's been quiet for quite sometime because, weirdly, every time BlackWarGreymon approach them, he felt dizzier and dizzier; like his energy was slowly being consumed by something.

"I don't know where I came from. All I know is that when I woke up, I didn't know who I was, and I can feel nothing... at least until a few hours ago." His armor clanked as took another step. "All this time I have been searching, waiting, for what I need."

"What do you need?" Taichi's question almost came out as a whisper.

"I don't know yet. But you..." He pointed at Taichi again. "you could be the answer."

Taichi felt Hikari and Daisuke's grip on him tightened. "But why my brother?" She felt something bad was going to happen and she didn't want this BlackWarGreymon, the Digimon she probably didn't know anymore, anywhere near her brother.

"I don't need to answer you." Everyone could tell that that last statement was final and there was no more talking. The virus Digimon began walking towards Taichi and not caring to stop when the boy with the goggles stepped in his way with a blue Digimon by his side.

"Watch it, ugly! If you want to get to Taichi-senpai then you have to go through us first!" Daisuke pointed at him before pulling out his D-3 and turning to his partner. "Veemon! Digivolve!"

"Way ahead of ya, Daisuke!"

**"Veemon Digivolve to... ExVeemon!"**

Ken and Wormmon nodded at each other.

**"Wormmon Digivolve to... Stingmon!"**

And so did Iori, Hikari and Miyako with their respective Digimon.

**"Tailmon Armordigivolve to... Nefertimon!"**

**"Hawkmon Armordigivolve to... Aquilamon!"**

**"Armadillomon Armordigivolve to... Ankylomon!"**

It was a silent thought, but they all were definitely thinking the same thing. If this BlackWarGreymon were not the same as the one when he was killed, then they have to go all out. He was powerful and dangerous alright.

"Guys! Don't aim to kill just yet!" warned Koushirou.

"Got it!" shouted Daisuke. "ExVeemon!"

"Heard ya! X-Laser!" The dragon Digimon's attack was cue for the other Digimon to begin their attacks too.

"Spiking Strike!"

"Blast Rings!"

"Tail Hammer!"

"Rosetta Stone!"

The various attacks hit BlackWarGreymon at the same time and in seconds he was engulfed in smokes.

Daisuke whooped. "Heck yeah!"

"Not yet, Daisuke! This is BlackWarGreymon we're talking about!" warned Taichi. The others acknowledged him with several nods before turning back to their enemy.

As if to correct their original leader's words, the smoke then clears up to reveal the unharmed Digimon in front of them. It didn't even bother to look at the other Digimon when they attacked. It seems to be only focusing his eyes on Taichi.

"There's not even a scratch on him!" Miyako grits her teeth while Daisuke clenched his fists. "Damn it, he's as strong as before!"

"I'd say he's stronger." murmured Ken in a low voice.

"Are you done now?" BlackWarGreymon asked blankly, as if he didn't even know how to sound arrogant because he was clearly stronger than all of them. In his mind, he could only focus on one thing. One person. That person, who was a few feet in front of him, he could feel something from him. He feels as if he could finally find the answer from him...

...and he was going to get it!

With that thought, before he knew it power starts to radiate through his body, flowing through his arms as he naturally shout, "Gaia Destroyer!"

Taichi's eyes widened and he instinctively reaches for his sister.

"HIKARI!"

"ONII-CHAN!"

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

The Chosen Children and Digimons scream as the land before them shifted because of the single attack, and the force that came from the attack managed to separate and flew them off quite far. Smoke was everywhere, trees were burning and by adding the dark fog, the whole area seemed like a horror place.

The Digimon who had caused the damage walk with stalwart, not caring about the situation around him. He stopped when he reached his destination. There saw two people, a male and a female, the first lying on top as if he was trying to protect the latter from the chaos around them.

The male twitched and groaned when he sensed something standing near them. "Don't... touch Hikari..."

BlackWarGreymon, even though the human in front of him can't see him, gave a look of disinterest before saying, "I have no interest in her." And then he moved to grab the messy haired boy around the waist with his big armored hand to lift him up to his face.

"You hurt my friends... asshole..."

"I couldn't care less about that either."

Taichi, in all his glory; what with being held up in the air in front of his enemy and all, decided to spit on him. If it was any other enemy, he probably would have been thrown harshly to the ground, but when he looked at the Digimon's cold eyes, he didn't seem to care. About anything for that matter. Seeing his blank, cold eyes caused him to almost shiver.

Almost.

He's the Child of Courage, dammit!

He decided then to approach in a different way. "What the hell... do you want from us? Are you... even the same Digimon... the same Black... WarGreymon... we knew...?" Yup. Interrogation it is. Breathless as he was, iff he could stall him long enough, Yamato and the others should arrive soon and get them the hell out of here. But being so close to BlackWarGreymon somehow makes him feel so weak that even speaking was hard. What is this Digimon _doing_ to him?

"You." The black Digimon corrected. "I want only you. Not the other humans with you, I don't care about them."

"Why _me?_ " Taichi tried to struggle.

"Because I can feel it. You are the key... to my answers. And I need you. I need... your light!"

And suddenly, a feeling of deja vu penetrates him .

_"What was that?"_

_**"I need your..."** _

_"My...?"_

_" **Your light...** "_

Taichi's eyes widened.

He could feel BlackWarGreymon's grip harden on him. He _knows_ that aside from probably strangling him, the Digimon was doing something to him because as soon as he saw his dark eyes shined red, Taichi felt weak. He let out a pained groan as he felt the energy in his body being sucked out. He slightly noticed a red and orange color before completely giving in to the feeling of fatigue, and finally, passed out.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

When she heard her brother screaming in pain, Hikari quickly woke up. She was horrified to find herself looking at her brother being held up by BlackWarGreymon's hand in front of him as he was doing something to Taichi that made his whole body glowed in orange color. At first it was only Taichi who was glowing, but as his protests went louder, the glow went to illuminate BlackWarGreymon's body as well.

Hikari quickly stood up to her feet and went to grab BlackWarGreymon's hand, the one holding Taichi up, in an effort to make him let her brother go. "NO! Get away from him! Let go of my brother!" But the Digimon paid her no mind, continuing whatever he is doing to Taichi and not caring that his screaming went louder. Seeing this, the girl began to hit the Digimon's arm and continued her protests. "Stop it! Stop it, you're hurting him! _Please, stop!"_

Annoyed, BlackWarGreymon pushed Hikari harshly, resulting in her landing on her back. It was another few moments before Taichi's screaming started to halt before he went completely silent. Then he went limp in BlackWarGreymon's grip, showing that he had passed out.

For Hikari, it felt like hours than just a few moments. She never wanted to hear her brother in pain like that. _Never_ , ever since that fight with Piedmon that occurred years ago.

"There's no need to be here anymore."

The Child of Light noticed the black Digimon was holding her brother's body closer to him. His armored wings are now opened and ready to take flight. _'No way',_ she thought, _'He's going to take him away'._ Tears were forming in her eyes. It was Tailmon being taken away by Vamdemon again. As she clenched her eyes shout, Hikari let out a cry. "Nooooo!"

"BABY FLAME!"

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

"BABY... FLAME!"

BlackWarGreymon was surprised when he felt fire on his armored wings. He wasn't surprised at being attacked, he was surprised that the small attack managed to _scratch_ him. He was even more surprise to find that the thing, no, the enemy that managed to put a mark on him was small. _Tiny._

"You..." He didn't know why, but somehow, he felt a familiar vibe coming from the yellow lizard thing in front of him.

"Yeah. _Me._ Now let go of Taichi! BABY FLAME!" It shoot out a fireball at him and the fireball landed on his arm this time. Before he knew it he was encircled by other attacks.

"Blue Blaster!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Tsk." _'Other annoyances.'_ He jumped back from the attacks, evading them. In a second, he could feel a presence behind him beginning to strike.

"Light Speed Jabbing!" A cactus was attacking him with punches, faster than the speed of light. It was nothing for him, though. But as he made the effort to defend himself, he felt something slipped from his hand.

"Great job, Stingmon!" The insect Digimon took the chance to grab the brown haired boy and carry him to safety while BlackWarGreymon was distracted.

"Alright guys! Now's the time! ATTACK!" commanded the goggle-boy.

"X-Laser!"

"Blast Rings!"

"Tail Hammer!"

"Rosetta Stone!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Needle Spray!"

"Marching Fishes!"

"Petite Thunder!"

"Air Shot!"

"Baby Flame!"

Meanwhile, as Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, Mimi, and Koushirou were supporting the Digimons to fight, Takeru, Hikari, Yamato, Sora, and Ken were surrounding Jyou who was tending to Taichi. Gabumon and Stingmon were behind them, keeping a look out if there was any stray attack from BlackWarGreymon or the other Digimons.

"Hikari-chan, are you okay?" The blond with the hat asked.

"I'm- I'm fine... but my brother is-" Hikari trembled, causing Takeru to frown in sympathy and putting his arm around her shoulders to keep her steady. If it were Yamato who was lying on the ground instead of Taichi, he was sure he would be in the same state.

Sora, who was kneeling beside the unconscious Taichi opened her mouth to ask Jyou, "How is he, senpai?" It didn't help that her voice trembled also.

The oldest member frowned. "His blood pressure is low..." He moved his hand and place it on his friend's forehead. "and he's got a high fever. He's bleeding from a few injuries but thankfully they all seem minor." As Jyou continued his diagnose, Yamato could only stare at his best friend's face.

It was Piedmon all over again.

He was late _again._

From that moment on, all those years ago, he had promised himself he wouldn't be late if such a thing occured again. He would be there when Taichi needs him. He _vowed._

...But look at where they are now.

Him, in this dark world (it was dark then too, he remembers distinctively), looking down at his unconscious and wounded best friend because of his tardiness. Clenching his fists while gritting his teeth, he accepted the fact that he was one of the reasons to his best friend being hurt. But he would curse himself for that later.

 _Now_ , he needs to deal with the _other reason for the wounded Taichi._

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

_'This is getting out of hand'_ , thought Koushirou. _'Sure, he's outnumbered, but BlackWarGreymon's a Mega, and that make's him stronger than all of the Digimons combined!'_ True to his words, one by one the Digimons around him were being knocked out by the virus Digimon. His friends seems to be thinking as their cheering turned from _"Yeah, you go guys!"_ or _"Kick his ass!"_ to _"Come on guys, get up!"_ and _"Damn it, he's too strong...!"_

Thankfully, when Koushirou thought they were running out of options, his laptop went off. As he automatically turned his attention to open it, a familiar voice came out. _"Koushirou-san!"_

"Gennai-san!?"

True enough, he saw the old man on the screen on his laptop. _"Thank goodness it finally came through. I see you're in a midst of a pickle. There's no time to explain, so listen carefully."_ That's Gennai-san alright! Late as ever, but also reliable! _"I'm going to sent you a code. After I disconnect with you, I hope you'll quickly type and enter the code inside the application I just sent to you through my email. With that code, a portal will open and you have to get everyone through it so you can get to safety!"_

"But where will we go?"

 _"I don't know."_ Koushirou wanted to scream in frustration. _"But it will take you faraway from you worst obstacle at the moment."_

Hearing a shriek from Birdramon and a scream from Sora who heard her Digimon's pain, Koushirou began to act. "Alright, Gennai-san, thanks for your help!"

 _"I hope you all manage to get to safety. I'll be in contact soon."_ And the screen went off.

He then quickly ran off towards the group surrounding Taichi. He quickly explained the situation to them while setting up the preparations for their escape, telling them that they only had one chance and the can't let BlackWarGreymon follow them in.

"We need to distract him, then." said Ken.

"With what?" started Takeru. "The Digimons fighting him are almost out of energy, plus he's a mega!" "If..." Everyone stopped their talking.

"If it were Onii-chan" Hikari murmured, hands holding her brother's limp hand. "If it were him, he'd jumped at the chance so we could all escape. Even without asking us."

"Hikari-chan..." The group went silent after that.

Then, Yamato stood up. "Yamato?" Jyou stood after his friend.

"You're right, Hikari-chan. Taichi would definitely do that." He turned to look at Taichi's lying form before nodding towards Gabumon. "That's why, because he can't do it at the moment, _I'm_ the one who has to."

"Nii-san, he's a _mega_ Digimon-" "I don't care, Takeru!" His shout silenced his brother. "...besides, I'm not stupid. Gabumon and I will fight only to distract him, I promise." he said to reassure his little brother. "Plus, are you forgetting that we have a Digimon who can Digivolve into a mega right here?" He smiles, nodding at his Digimon.

A look of realization went through the Chosen Children. It seems they _did_ forget.

"But Yamato-san, we don't have our crests anymore, remember? How are you going to make Gabumon digivolve into MetalGarurumon?" protest Koushirou.

"Koushirou, remember when we fight Apocalymon? We don't need the crests because we never lose them. They're inside us. Besides... my best friend is right there, lying on the ground. If I can protect him... and making Gabumon digivolve is the only way to do it, then crest or no crest, I sure as hell will make him digivolve!"

A blue light suddenly appeared from Yamato's chest, radiating towards Gabumon. Gabumon can feel it. This power... it's so strong... it's-

It's Yamato's friendship!

**GABUMON WARP-DIGIVOLVE TO... METALGARURUMON!**

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

"THEY DID IT!" Jyou screamed in joy while hugging the wide eyed Koushirou.

"Cocytus Breath!" BlackWarGreymon turned to his next attacker as he was about to finish Agumon.

"Cocytus Breath! Grace Cross Freezer!" MetalGarurumon continues to attack him while Stingmon quickly told the plan to the Chosen Children who were fighting alongside their Digimons. Soon after, all the other Digimons turn back to their rookie form and made their way to Koushirou with their human partners.

"Are you sure this will work, Koushirou-kun?" asked Mimi.

Koushirou, who was still setting up the portal answered, "Hai, Mimi-san, just give me a moment."

"What if we landed on the ocean though?" Miyako was scared of the thought.

"Don't worry, I'm here with you!" Gomamon said confidently.

"But can you hold this many humans and Digimons?" Miyako asked again, to which the small Digimon gave a hesitant reply with, "Uh, umm..." making Miyako panic more only to be consoled by Mimi and Hawkmon.

"Koushirou-kun, what's taking so long?" Sora asked, exasperated. It's not as if she hadn't been in this kind of dangerous situation before, but all those times, Taichi was there to lead them with confidence. Him being unconscious and quiet was something she wasn't used to, especially at a time like this.

Koushirou turned towards her and noticed that Taichi was being propped up against Sora. He was leaning backwards, head lolling against Sora's chest while her arms were around his shoulders protectively. He concluded that she was restless and was holding the other boy in that position unconsciously. Man, when Taichi-san wakes up, does he have a story to tell. He quickly averted his eyes back to his laptop and answered the red hair's question. "It's the fog, Sora-san, it's messing with the signal."

"Damn it, Koushirou-senpai, hurry it up!"

"I'm trying, Miyako-san, please be patient- no, don't hit my laptop! You of all people should know to treat this kind of stuff with delicacy!"

"I've got not delicacy when we're fighting to survive!"

Meanwhile...

"Cocytus Breath!"

"Great Tornado!"

"MetalGarurumon, dodge!" Yamato shouted. Thankfully MetalGarurumon managed to dodge the attack, but the situation wasn't getting any better because he was out of breath. It's not fair that their enemy wasn't.

"X-Laser!" The strike almost caught BlackWarGreymon, it missed him.

"Damn it, Daisuke!" The blond curses at the younger boy. "Stick to the plan!"

"Heh! I don't remember the plan being only you and MetalGarurumon get to be the 'heroes'! He acted his fingers in a quote at the word 'heroes' so BlackWarGreymon doesn't know their plan. Quite smart... for Daisuke.

"Besides..." The boy continued. "he hurt Taichi-senpai when I was there. I won't forgive myself for that..."

Yamato frowned. "Daisuke..."

Daisuke shook his head before raising his head, his face visible with anger as he pointed at BlackWarGreymon for the who-knows-how-much-by-now time. "But I won't forgive _you_ more! Let's go, ExVeemon!"

"Right behind you, Daisuke!"

"Really... so reckless!" Yamato complained, yet he smirked at the boy's courage.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

"IT'S READY!" shouted the Child of Knowledge. The group jump in joy and relief at the exclamation.

"Anddd... Enter!" Right after the boy pushed the 'enter' button on his laptop, a portal with rainbow color appeared in front of him. Not wasting any second, Ken and Takeru each move to Taichi's side to carry him through, with Sora, Hikari, and the others behind them.

When he finished counting everyone who had gone through, Koushirou yelled, "Yamato-san!"

Yamato turned to Koushirou and nodded. "Daisuke!" He called the younger boy. "We're done here! MetalGarurumon!"

"Got it! ExVeemon!"

At their partners' signal, MetalGarurumon and ExVeemon each manage one last attack at their enemy. "Freeze Bomber!" "X-Laser!" And their strikes hit.

Not wasting any second, Yamato and Daisuke grabbed the tired Tsunomon and Veemon and quickly ran towards Koushirou. Finally, the last three chosen jumped into the portal before it is closed and disappeared.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

BlackWarGreymon stood at the abandoned place he had just fought. Those humans.

Damn those humans for taking away his key to finding his answers!

Before, he was only feeling annoyance at them, but now...

_He felt angry._

...

...When he finds them again, he will _destroy_ all of them except the boy with his light.

_He'll make sure of it._

* * *

.

..

... **tbc**

**.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I like a Taichi-centric story, sue me.


	3. All Hell Breaks Loose

_Darkness._

_Pitch black._

_A shadow approaching him._

_A voice, demanding something..._

_A light..._

"Who are you?"

_Red light._

"What do you want?"

**" _I need your light."_**

**" _You are the answer to the questions I've been asking for."_**

"Why me!?"

**_"I will do anything to get the answers. I will..."_ **

"Leave me alone!"

" _ **I will come and get you."**_

" _ **TAICHIIII!"**_

His brown eyes shoot open and a pained gasp went out of his mouth. He went to sit up quickly because he noticed he was in an unfamiliar room. "Where am I?" Asked Taichi. "And why is it so cold!" He quickly grabbed the blanket that was covering him, hoping to get more warmth out of it.

"Because it's winter, Taichi-san~!" He turned towards the only exit in the room, to find a pretty girl with pink hair. Now he was glad to find a familiar face.

"Mimi-chan! When did you get here? Wait, why am _I_ here? Where is here, exactly?" the girl giggled at the boy's antics but before she could answer, another girl went inside the room, followed by many more familiar faces.

"Onii-chan!" "TAICHIII!" His sister and his partner Digimon, who were both thankfully in one piece, tackled him into his bed, causing him to land on his back. While being happy and all, the motion unfortunately made his already pounding head began to pound even harder.

Seeing his expression, Hikari briskly took her weight off of her brother. "Gomen, Onii-chan. I'm just glad you're alright." She apologized before hugging him more gently, the movement resulting in Agumon being squeezed between the Yagami siblings.

Taichi smiled and hugged his sister back, the pound in his head slightly subsiding. "Sorry for making you worry." He whispered.

"Taichi." Hearing a muffled voice coming from the boy's chest, the Yagami siblings quickly moved away from each other, resulting to a pair of green eyes staring at the older sibling's pair of brown eyes.

"You saved me again didn't you, Agumon? Thanks."

"'Course! And no need to say thanks, you're my partner after all." They gave a smile to each other before Agumon put his arms around Taichi's waist and the latter patted him on his back.

He felt a hand landed on his shoulder. "Taichi-kun, let me take a look at you for a second." He was greeted with a smiling Jyou. He, like the rest of the people and Digimon in the room was apparently relieved that he was awake.

While Jyou was tending to him, he gave out a few questions that's been bugging him. "So what happened? Where are we?" To which Miyako got dibs for answering. She explained what happened after Taichi passed out, and how they escaped BlackWarGreymon, resulting them to land on an island, "Wait, we're in File Island?"

Mimi shook her head. "Not really Taichi-san. This island has some familiar Digimons and it has the same name, but it's a different place because of the event years ago with that troublesome and ugly Digimon!"

"She means Vamdemon, yes." Iori answered his unspoken question. Taichi gave a sheepish smile and nodded at the boy's serious expression.

"According to Koushirou-san, Gennai-san said that the portal could've taken us anywhere. Thankfully we landed here instead of the ocean or the volcanoes!" Miyako twirled around while lifting Hawkmon up to the air, happy because her last statement was true.

"Uh huh. Where is 'here', exactly?"

Before any of his friends or the Digimon managed to answer, a new set of voices took charge. "You're in ShogunGekomon's castle! Or you could say the new version of it!"

Taichi's eyes went wide when he saw a pair of amphibian Digimon. "You're- Gekomon and Otamamon?" The two Digimon smiled happily because he remembered them.

"Long time no see! We were shocked when all of you suddenly appeared on ShogunGekomon's head, you know!"

"Thankfully, he's not the same mean old Digimon after the Dark Masters killed him."

Oh... Well that answers some of his questions.

Mimi smiled happily. "When they saw us, they immediately gave us a warm welcome!"

Her answer made Taichi smile at the two Digimon. "Thanks guys. You've helped a lot." And he didn't mean just today. Gekomon smiled proudly at the compliment, while Otamamon blushed.

"Alright, Taichi-kun" Jyou caught his attention. "your fever broke, and you're blood pressure's back to normal. But you're wounds haven't healed yet, so take it easy, okay? Oh, and take this medicine while you're at it." Taichi nodded before thanking Jyou and using the 'good old reliable Jyou' comment while gulping his medicine with water. The comment made the latter bashfully scratch his head.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Jyou turned serious again. "There's something that I don't understand, though, Taichi-kun."

"Hmm?" The boy was leaning backwards and being propped up by pillows now. Then medicine and the soft bed, along with his fatigue from before were making him sleepy.

"Well..." The glasses boy move to scratch his head again. "although I'm glad that you're fever broke and you're blood pressure's back to normal, it's only been an hour since we all arrived here..."

"So? That's good right?" Daisuke crossed his arms against his chest.

"Normal fevers don't break in one hour." Ken explained while petting Wormmon's head, making the Digimon purr. "It's the same with low blood pressure that drops suddenly. They usually take more time to get back to normal."

Taichi wanted to join the discussion, but he felt so sleepy that it was hard to keep his eyes open any longer. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was the feeling of his hand clasped in Hikari's and the warmth he felt from his partner Digimon who was lying on top of his stomach.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

The first thing Taichi felt when he woke up again was how tired he felt. It's weird because when he woke up before, he had felt more energetic, but now... Now he feels almost as tired as when he arrived in the Digital World.

Other things that he noticed were: one, Agumon was sleeping on his stomach; and two, the hands holding him now weren't his sister's. He groaned while opening his eyes to find a pair of red eye staring back at him... which he knows _very well_.

Oh...

It's Sora.

"Taichi! I'm so glad you're awake." She softly said with a smile.

"Mmmh... are you sure I'm not dreaming?" Because he felt fuzzy, and tired, and he had a headache, and _Sora_ was there.

The red eyed girl raises an eyebrow. "What makes you think this is a dream?"

"'Cause I'm in my bed, and you look so pretty and you're smiling at me." Answered Taichi with a sigh.

Sora blushed but she managed to smile in amusement. "So you dream about me, huh?"

"Once in a while, sure. What's not to dream about?" He gave a smirk.

She giggled at his statement. "That's a lousy pick-up line, Taichi. And this _isn't_ a dream." The brown eyed boy frowned.

"It's not?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Would dream-Sora know about your hair b-" "Okay, stop right there." She giggled again.

If Taichi wasn't feeling very tired, he would've jumped off the bed and go outside to find a hole to crawl into. Sadly, right now he could only avert his eyes while laying there with his red face.

" _Really?_ Hearing both of your conversation just now can make _anyone_ nauseous." The other male in the room crossed his arm against his chest while shaking his head, though there was no ill-tone from his comment.

Taichi turned his head to look at Yamato. He gave him a smile. "Yamato. You're late."

That took Yamato off guard.

He _was_ late.

Again.

"Taichi, I-" "Thanks a lot for making me and the rest of us finish Miyako's cooking." Yamato went silent.

He should have known Taichi would never resent him for anything.

Yamato gave him a smile as he sat on the other side of Taichi's bed. "Miyako will kill you if she finds out you said that." Taichi smiled back.

"But my best bud wouldn't tell on me, right?"

The blond shook his head and sigh at his best friend's silliness. After that, the three best friends fell into comfortable silence.

They didn't know that this was the calm before the storm.

* * *

"I have a theory." Taichi had woken up for the third time that day and was being given food (by feeding, courtesy of Hikari. He was told that the others have eaten while he was asleep. Traitors.) and all the Chosen Children and Digimon were sitting around his bed. Some were on chairs while the rest were on the floor, chatting, eating, etc, before Koushirou started to speak his thought.

"Actually, _Ken and I_ have a theory." The red hair corrected himself and nodded at the blue haired boy. He nodded back.

The original leader swallowed his food before nodding. "Go on, Koushirou."

"Before I continue, I want Agumon and Tentomon to explain what happened a few days ago." The red hair motion for the lizard and insect Digimon to start.

Agumon looked hesitant to tell the story, so Tentomon decided to be the one to tell everyone. "Well, as you already now, Agumon and I were the ones to cover that area where we fought BlackWarGreymon. A few days ago when we were on patrol, we felt something."

"Something?" asked Iori and Armadillomon simultaneously.

Tentomon nodded. "Hai, Iori-han and Armadillomon. There was something dark. And we felt it from below where we were standing." At that, Gabumon perks up.

"From the underground." Tentomon nodded again.

"So, we went to Gennai-san for advise and he decided to come along with us."

Hikari spoke up. "I see, so that's where you three found the black object."

Tentomon went silent for a while before starting to tell the story again. "Yes. And-" "I'm..."

The insect Digimon went silent when he heard his friend speak up. The yellow Digimon was trembling. "Agumon?" His partner called while looking down at the Digimon in his lap.

Agumon gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut. "I'm sorry, Taichi! I'm sorry for touching that black thing! It's my fault that you're feeling this way..." The messy haired boy frowned as his Digimon hugged him.

"Hey, hey, stop that. It's not your fault that you were curious, okay? Heck, if I was there I'd probably do the same thing!" He tried to cheer his Digimon up by giving him a smile, but he didn't seem to be convinced.

"Actually, Taichi-san, our theory has to do with what Agumon had said."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, Koushirou-kun?" Jyou asked.

Koushirou turned to Tentomon again. "Gennai-san said after Agumon touched the black object, it emitted a red light and transformed into a shape of a Digimon, right?"

"Hai, Koushirou-han."

"So, if we assume it changed into BlackWarGreymon in result of it uniting with Agumon's energy, that would make sense. We could also add the fact that this BlackWarGreymon doesn't have any memories because it is different from the one we knew two years ago."

"But why did it change into BlackWarGreymon and not to Greymon? Or even just Agumon?" Tailmon asked with her paw up in the air.

"I think..." Everyone turned to Ken. "the black object was found deep in the underground and you guys managed to get down there with Gennai-san's help, right?" Tentomon and Agumon nodded. "I think that the fact it can spread energy onto the land's surface when it's buried deep inside the ground means it's very strong. And it's a black object that spreads darkness. So, when Agumon touched it, it transformed into the reversed form of Agumon's strongest digivolution; A WarGreymon who is a Vaccine, into A BlackWarGreymon who is a Virus."

Silence.

"That.. actually makes _a lot_ of sense." Mimi said, nodding her head up and down while her hands were on her hips.

"Good job Koushirou-san! Ken-kun!" Miyako cheered, causing Koushirou and Ken to act sheepish.

"You guys rock!" Daisuke agreed.

"But we still have questions unanswered." Yamato spoke up. Sora nodded at his statement.

"That's right. Like why is he targeting Taichi, and what does he want from him?"

"And what about the thing that he did to my brother with the orange glow?" joined Hikari.

"Huh? What do you mean orange glow, Hikari-chan?" Daisuke asked, confused.

Hikari frowned. "When my brother was being held up by BlackWarGreymon, he did something to him. I saw an orange glow appear around my brother's body, but when I heard him scream" She timidly adds, looking at her brother. Taichi encouraged her to go on. "when it happened, the orange glow went around BlackWarGreymon's body as well. And then Onii-chan passed out. You didn't see it?" Daisuke, along with Miyako, Iori, Ken and Koushirou shook their head.

"I saw Taichi-san being held up and passing out" Miyako said.

"Same here." Iori agreed before looking at Ken. The blue haired nodded at him, indicating he had seen the same incident.

"So it was only Hikari-san who could see the orange glow?" Koushirou gave Taichi a look. He gave a shrug as a reply.

"Don't look at me, I was too busy being in pain."

They all went silent again. Each of them were trying to think of finding the answers to the questions asked just now but nothing comes to mind.

Takeru sighed. "Well, at least we have half of our answers. Maybe we should ask Gennai-san again." He suggested, only to have Koushirou shook his head.

"I tried calling Gennai-san again when we arrived at this castle and before we have this discussion. It seems the fog really is the cause of the bad signal." After they landed inside the castle, Koushirou had took the initiative to look outside the window, only to find the sky still as dark. The fog was probably covering up all areas of the Digital World, and this may be one of the disruption BlackWarGreymon has done, according to Gennai.

"Taichi! Taichi, what's wrong?"

"Onii-chan?"

At Agumon and Hikari's distressed voices, everyone turned to the boy. A whimper came out of his mouth as held his head in his hands. His usually tan skin now cold, clammy and pale and he was breathing shallowly. Seeing this, Jyou immediately went to him.

"His fever is back... and his blood pressure is turning low again." diagnosed the one with the most medical experience.

Sora moved to steady her childhood friend. "But how is that happening so quickly!? Yes, he's still a bit weak because of what BlackWarGreymon did, but he was fine a few minutes ago!"

Koushirou and Ken immediately look at each other.

BlackWarGreymon.

Taichi.

"When we arrived in the Digital World, Taichi-san was fine, right?" The Child of Knowledge asked the Child of Kindness.

"Yes. He was looking a bit tired but he was able to fight Daisuke for Hikari's cupcakes."

"But then he collapsed."

"Right. Just before BlackWarGreymon landed in front of us."

"Then that means..."

The two of them tore from each others' gaze and ran to the nearest window.

" **GAIA DESTROYER!** "

And all hell breaks loose.

* * *

.

..

... **tbc**

**.**

* * *


	4. Sacrifice

BlackWarGreymon feels anger running through his body as he fired his attack.

" **GAIA DESTROYER!** "

The attack collided with the castle and almost half of the building instantly crumbles. The children and Digimons scream as they feel the impact. Panic was beginning to rise.

"It's him!" Ken shouted.

' _He almost destroyed a whole building with a single attack!_ ' thought Koushirou as he inspects the situation outside the window. He quickly turns to the others. "The castle's collapsing! We have to get out of here!"

Not wasting any time, the children and Digimons quickly began to escape, running with all their might so they don't get crushed by the falling debris. They let out a sigh of relief when they saw the exit, but unlucky for them, they got out only to find their enemy waiting for them.

"Damn! How did he found out where we were!?" complained Miyako, hastily stopping her sprint to hide behind Ken.

"He must have followed Taichi-san's energy." He answered.

"Well it's no use complaining about it now! Ken, let's DNA Digivolve!" Daisuke said to which Ken nodded.

**"Veemon digivolve to... ExVeemon!"**

**"Wormmon digivolve to... Stingmon!"**

**"ExVeemon and Wormmon DNA Digivolve to... Paildramon!"**

"Let'im have it guys!" At Daisuke's command Paildramon went straight to attack the mega Digimon. "Cable Catcher!"

BlackWarGreymon dodges the attack and proceed with his own strike. "Great Tornado!"

As the two Digimons fight, Gomamon, Palmon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon and Patamon decided to not stick by and watch, and with each of their partners' approval, they went to digivolve also.

Meanwhile, as the others fight BlackWarGreymon, Taichi was being carried on Yamato's back to escape with Sora, Hikari, Koushirou, and each of their respective Digimons.

"Yamato... put me down." Their original leader said with a hoarse voice. Yamato huffed.

"You're kidding, right? No way in hell!"

"He's right, Taichi-san. BlackWarGreymon is after you, so we have to get you to safety!" Koushirou said while panting. The messy haired boy curled his fingers on his best friend's shirt.

"It's not that... I'm feeling okay now... and you guys can't expect me to run when _I'm_ the reason they're even having this fight! Yamato, _please_!" Yamato's eyes widened in realization to Taichi's plead, because he _never_ pleads, especially to him. But the blond chose to ignore him. He'd rather die than let his best friend get captured by that monster.

"Not gonna happen, man." He panted.

"Taichi, listen to him!" Sora pressed, making Taichi grit his teeth in frustration. He doesn't want to be protected, _he's_ the one who's supposed to be protecting them all. He's the leader, damn it! Even if Daisuke is their leader now, that still doesn't change the fact that after all they've been through, _he_ was the one who chose to bear the responsibilities of keeping them save.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Needle Spray!"

"Heaven's Knuckle!"

"Blast Rings!"

"Desperado Blaster!"

One by one with his armored wings, BlackWarGreymon dodges the attacks that are coming his way. He considered giving them a compliment for making him gave his effort to fight. He was about to give them another attack when he noticed the presence of his light was getting farther and farther away from him. That's when he saw a glimpse of orange, far away in the distance behind the castle's ruins.

They were taking him away again.

They were taking his light away from him.

His anger was back.

No. He was angrier than before.

How dare they!?

BlackWarGreymon let out a roar of anger as he released a powerful attack towards the humans running with his light. "Gaia Destroyer!"

The blast landed a few feet away from Taichi's escape group, but the impact was so powerful, they all got blown away.

Daisuke and the others were distracted by the other group's screams that they were late to notice BlackWarGreymon's second attack.

He was beyond angry now...

**"MEGA... DESTROYER!"**

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

' _This situation seems familiar_ ', Taichi grudgingly thought as he slowly got up. He immediately went to search for his sister, only to be given the sight of his friends that were escaping with him, now unconscious on the ground. The impact had been so hard, imagine if it actually landed on them. He slowly got up to his knees, but not without grunting in pain. Man, this day has been _torture_.

"Ugh..." Somebody was groaning. And Taichi knows who the owner of that voice is. He immediately looks up to find- "Agumon-" He gasped in horror. BlackWarGreymon was holding Agumon up in his hand, a position he himself was in not too long ago. He realized that his partner was hurt by the blast just now and he was clearly in pain.

"Agumon!"

When the mega gave him his attention, Taichi snarled. "Let go of him you bastard!"

He only tilted his head as he said, "I don't know why... but of all the Digimons here, he irritates me the most."

"Oh, and I should clap for that!? I said let him go!" Though he managed to stand up, Taichi was swaying on his feet. BlackWarGreymon, if he had eyebrows, would raise one right now.

"He irritates me... along with the annoyances who tried to take you from me." He nodded at all of his unconcious friends and Digimon, including Daisuke and the others who was yards behind them. "I should destroy them." The boy's eyes went wide. "Starting with this one..."

Suddenly, Taichi knew what he had to do. He knew what BlackWarGreymon was capable of, even if he was a different Digimon. He had seen the mega's powers. He knew the risks, but he had ultimately decided what he would do if it came to _this_ ; if it came to everyone losing to the Digimon and he finally had no choice but to do it. He knew... ever since Koushirou had implied that the Digimon before him was for some reason targeting him, that he had to give himself up.

And now, when he sees everyone around him, especially his partner being in danger, he chose to act. After searching for any weapon on the ground, Taichi opt for a sharp stone that, if he wanted to, could hurt the flesh of his skin.

"HEY!" At the shout, BlackWarGreymon looks at the boy again. He was glaring at the Digimon with hate yet a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Don't interrupt me-" "Look, just" He's struggling to find the right words. "let him go." There was a hint of begging in his voice this time. When the mega tilted his head again, he continues.

"You're after _me_ , right? Let Agumon and my friends go. If you do that, I promise to come with you quietly." Taichi heard a gasp from behind him. He turned his head just a bit to see Hikari and Sora struggling to get up, but he still kept his focused on the two Digimons in front of him.

"Taichi, no" He heard Sora whisper.

BlackWarGreymon's cold eyes didn't change. "Why should I? After I take you, they would come after us and attack me again. I'd rather save myself the trouble and destroy them right now."

His statement made Taichi growl in anger. "Do people's or Digimon's lives mean nothing to you!?"

The virus Digimon hesitated. Why was his light acting this way? Being angry at him, and... expects him to treat life as something... meaningful?

...

Such nonsense.

" _No._ "

At his answer, Taichi closed his eyes, trying to suppress his anger and frustration. ' _So it did come to this... ahh, hell..._ '

The Child of Courage opened his eyes to meet with the dark Digimon's. "Fine." He put a stone in front of his chest, making sure the sharp edge settle against his heart.

"Taichi, what the hell do you think you're doing!?" Hissed Yamato who had just awoken. He was shocked to find his best friend's stunt. Taichi ignored him, keeping his eyes still on BlackWarGreymon's.

"What are you doing?" Asked the Digimon as if he didn't understand.

"I need to spell it out for you, huh? I'm saying; If you don't leave my friends alone then I'll _kill_ myself." At his statement, the Digimon finally shows an emotion for the first time. He looks almost... scared. Withdrawn.

"Onii-chan...!" His sister trembled. His hands holding the stone were trembling too, he noticed, but the fear of him dying is nothing compared to him losing his friends. _That's_ how much of a Child of Courage he is.

For the first time also, BlackWarGreymon seems speechless. "You need me for something, right? Heck, you even said you didn't know what for! But you won't find out if I die, will you? Don't worry though, I'm a man of my words-"

"Taichi-san, this is no time to be a man!" Koushirou cut him off. Taichi saw he was struggling with his feet to approach him.

"Stay back, Koushirou!"

His order made Koushirou froze. He never could oppose Taichi when he uses his leader tone.

"But Taichi-san..." He gritted his teeth as the brown haired boy turned back to his business.

"Like I was saying, I'm a man of my words. I promise I'll come with you quietly if you leave my friends alone. So let go of Agumon _right now_."

BlackWarGreymon hesitated. Taichi's frown deepened as he growls. "I won't repeat myself... _Let. Him. Go._ "

After a few seconds of silence, the virus Digimon put the lizard Digimon on the ground, the motion made the latter groaned in pain. Without a word, BlackWarGreymon approach Taichi, and the boy threw the stone he was holding away before letting the Digimon pick him up.

"Ta... Taichi..." His partner, Agumon whimpered. Taichi looks down at him to give him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Yamato, Koushirou, Sora and Hikari knew he was lying, but they weren't sure if he said it to reassure them or himself.

"Taichi no-!" Tailmon bit her lip.

"Don't go, Taichi-han...!"

Taichi takes a good look at each of them, his friends and their Digimons, before stopping his gaze on Sora. "I'll still wait..." He softly said to her. Sora gasped as tears fell from her eyes.

"No..." She shook her head.

And BlackWarGreymon took off to the sky, taking the leader of the original Chosen Children with him.

"NO! TAICHIIII!"

* * *

.

..

... **tbc**

**.**


	5. Motivation

Koushirou was looking for clues. Any clues about the event that has been happening the last day. It's the only thing that could keep him from being distraught by what just happened. But it's no use.

He kept thinking of his best friend...

_'Taichi-san...'_

When Taichi disappeared with MetalGreymon after the fight with Etemon those years ago, the original Chosen Children couldn't hold itself together and one by one the members of the group left. They had split up. That was because they didn't have the experience or confidence they have now. Still, Taichi managed to bring them all back together again with his belief and confidence in each and everyone of them.

Now, even when he was taken away, the group is managing so they don't make the same mistake as last time. He watched as Daisuke and Veemon tries to cheer up every member of the group, especially Agumon and Hikari. How the two of them keep on encouraging them to keep their head high and believe that they will 'definitely find Taichi-senpai and kick BlackWarGreymon's ass!'. Daisuke was being an optimist; a requirement they all need right now. He, Koushirou decided, was definitely a good choice of leader for the new Chosen Children.

But the loss of their member, especially Taichi... the loss of his presence doesn't sit well with any of them. After all these years he's like the glue that keeps them together, original or new Chosen Children. He has taken care of them all this time, and after this event, they all feel like they have failed him... No, _he_ _especially_ had failed him. He should've stopped Taichi-san's stunt when he could. And he should've realized the connection between Taichi and BlackWarGreymon sooner. If he had then maybe... maybe they could have prevented Taichi from being taken.

But he was too late...

Curse him!

"Koushirou-han? Are you alright?" His partner sounds timid, a tone he always uses whenever he knows Koushirou was feeling distraught. He had stopped typing on his laptop, something that he was doing unconsciously he realized.

"Tentomon..." He gave Tentomon a blank look, but the insect Digimon knows how emotional he was inside by the look of his eyes. The latter then opt to sit next to his partner on the ground. Then there was silence. It's not an awkward one, but not quite a comfortable one either. It was then that Koushirou noticed his surroundings.

He and Tentomon were sitting under a tree, a bit far from the castle because the building was being repaired by the Digimons in their champion forms, the group of Gekomons and Otamamons joining them. They were being leaded by Daisuke.

Jyou and Sora were tending to the wounded humans and Digimons from BlackWarGreymon's last attack. A few minutes later though, he saw Jyou approaching him with a first aid-kit box in his hands.

"Koushirou-kun, I need to wrap your knee so it wouldn't get infected." He said while giving him a sympathetic smile.

Koushirou didn't even notice the blood running down his left knee. So that's why Tentomon had asked if he was alright.

...He wasn't.

But the pain on his knee was nothing compared to the pain in his chest right now.

The red haired boy nodded before turning his attention back to his laptop. After receiving a nod from him, the glasses boy began to clean the injured knee with antiseptic. He then proceed to wrap it with bandages.

"Koushirou-kun?"

Koushirou 'hmmd' absentmindedly at Jyou while continuing his typing. "We'll find him."

He stopped.

They were simple words, but the certainty and determination in them almost instantly gave him the assurance he needed. He turned his face towards Jyou's confident one. This, coming from the boy who years ago was so afraid and apprehensive against _anything_ ; that Taichi, Yamato and Gomamon had to give him the boost he had needed. After all those years, Jyou has never seemed more reliable than right now.

And for the first time since BlackWarGreymon's first made his appearance, Koushirou smiled.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

Sora has light wounds all over her body, but that didn't stop her from being the mother of the group, tending to everyone's needs and cheering them up, _'Especially now that the father is gone...'_ She sighed. She felt an ache in her heart as she was wrapping bandages around Yamato's arm. So this must be how Taichi had felt when she was captured by Datamon. Or when Hikari had given herself up to Vamdemon. She sighed again, sorrow clearly written all over her face.

"You love him." Her head snaps up to meet Yamato's gaze.

"I..."

"I've never seen you cry like that for someone. At least not since you cried about your crest years ago." The blond said, making her remember the time she had cried in front of her friends, in front of _Taichi_ , about how she claimed that could not love. She looks down to fix her eyes on her lap.

"I told him to wait..." Though she wasn't looking at him, Yamato gave her a nod. "It wasn't because I wasn't ready, but because it seems unreal, you know? That my childhood crush had finally decided to do something about our relationship. I guess it seemed so unreal that I unconsciously ran away, or something..."

She lift her head up to look at him again. "It doesn't mean that I didn't love you before, Yamato. I still do. You're my friend, and I just-"

"It's different, right?" The blond finishes for her. She nodded.

He gave her a smile. "Don't worry about that. We weren't meant to be, and I already gave my blessings to Taichi before he confessed, you know." Sora smiled at the thought of Taichi asking Yamato for permission so they wouldn't break their friendship. Typical yet at the same time admirable to see how loyal he is.

They went silent before Yamato speaks up again. "So what's wrong? Aside from Taichi being kidnapped and all." It was dry humor of course, but who doesn't need one right now?

"I guess-" She hesitated before continuing. "I guess... I took him for granted. I was going to give him an answer today, but with all that's happened I-"

"You're scared you waited too long." He concluded.

She nods again. "That's why when he said those words..." A glimpse of Taichi's smile appeared on her mind.

' _I'll still wait...'_

"I'm afraid that he'll..."

' _I'll still wait...'_

"I, I _did_ have a bad feeling when we were in the car." She trembled.

' _I'll still wait...'_

"So that's why I'm so scared right now that it'll be too late-" That she had lost the chance to tell him how she truly felt.

' _ **I'll still wait...'**_

A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders. Her red eyes which were filled with unshed tears met Yamato's blue ones. "It'll be okay, Sora." Sora put her hands on her mouth to stifle a sob.

"Taichi's probably looking for a way out right now, so you've got to be strong for him. And we'll save him! You'll get him back _for sure_." She didn't know Yamato was trying to reassure her or himself, but she nodded nonetheless.

She has to believe that she won't lose her best friend or miss her chance of starting a new relationship with him.

She has to.

Yamato smiled before letting her go. "Plus, who knows... being the stubborn guy he is, he's probably making an escape plan by now. And _you_ should get ready to run away towards the sunset while holding hands with him."

He grinned when Sora slapped him on the shoulder. "That's too cliché, Yamato."

"Not when you're running while BlackWarGreymon's chasing after both of your tails."

"Yamato!"

* * *

"A cave." Taichi shook his head, tired and irritated.

He doesn't know what's going on with his body. He was being sick and not sick all day and luckily now he was only feeling tired. Little miracles.

Koushirou and Ken had said that the reason he was being sick was because of BlackWarGreymon's presence. Whenever the Digimon was near him, he would feel fatigue run through his body, and that had been proven several times.

But now, as the Digimon released him from his grip after a long flight, he could only feel the cold from the weather and irritation towards his kidnapper. He stared at the cave in front of him.

"After that long flight, you brought me to a cave." He turned to the virus Digimon while rubbing his hands together to make them warm. He was wearing a jacket and some warm clothes, but it wasn't putting up a fight against the cold weather. Plus, it didn't help that he wasn't wearing any shoes.

"What, you don't have a secret lair for your captives or something?" If Yamato were here, he would definitely tell Taichi to shut his mouth.

BlackWarGreymon only gave him a look before nodding at the cave. "Get inside."

Taichi frowned. "Don't tell me what to do." He could see that made the Digimon annoyed. He was _sure_ that made the Digimon annoyed when it decided to grab Taichi with his hand to hold him up again.

_'Ahh, staring contest.'_

He was proud of being a running champion to said contest (which his friends would have definitely denied, yet it's true nonetheless) so of course he accepts the quiet challenge the Digimon was giving him.

"You gonna kick my ass for being a smartass? Or are you going to do that orange glowing thing again so I'll shut my mouth and pass out?" He wasn't sure. Hikari _did_ say orange glow, right?

Awkward silence.

...

...

Then BlackWarGreymon turns his head towards the cave (Yes! Score one for Taichi, the soccer master!). The cave was big enough to adequate their size. As soon as they got inside, the bigger one of the two mindlessly threw the shorter one the ground making him wince in pain.

"Shit!" (Taichi: 1; BlackWarGreymon: 1). "God... nobody ever told you to keep your hostages intact?" grumbled the boy. When the Digimon accompanying him didn't answer, he went quiet. He raised an eyebrow to see him standing over a used bonfire.

' _It's still usable',_ observed Taichi. _'Some Digimon probably used this before to keep warm against the cold outside.'_

He moved his gaze towards the thinking Digimon again. _'Does he want to light it? Is he feeling cold? What the-!?'_ Taichi's thoughts were interrupted when he saw the Digimon in front of him making a familiar move.

' _What the hell!?'_

"Gaia..." "NO, WAIT!"

BlackWarGreymon blinked in confusion when the boy suddenly screams and throws himself towards him, human arms around his waist, resulting in him hanging on his armored body.

"What are you doing?"

The boy gave him an incredulous look as if the Digimon had grown another head. "What am I-!? You're the one who was going to blow up this entire cave! Do you want to kill us!?"

BlackWarGreymon frowned. "I don't want to kill you." He said as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Taichi's mouth hangs open.

"Wha- you- but..." He stuttered before shaking his head from side to side and lets go of the Digimon's waist, causing him to land on the ground. He put each of his index finger and middle finger to rub his temples, wondering what he had done to deserve being put together with this crazy Digimon. He kept rubbing them until he sensed that he was being watched.

He gave him a long look before sighing. "You want to light this up, right?" He points at the bonfire. BlackWarGreymon nodded.

"Well that's not how you do it." Taichi went towards the object to inspect it. Then he, using his experience from camp (actually, his first adventure in the Digital World), moved to light it.

"When you can't do something, you should let others do it for you." He stated while seeing the bonfire starts to flicker. He smiled when he got the job done.

"For me?" Taichi heard BlackWarGreymon ask from behind him. It seems he didn't move at all while he was lighting the bonfire.

"Yeah." He felt like a hypocrite for saying that to the Digimon after he let himself be a sacrifice for his friends. But hey, at least their safe.

He shook his head before turning it to the Digimon. "Were you cold? Is that why you wanted to light it?" _'Even though you_ clearly _didn't know how to.'_

BlackWarGreymon answered him "No." Taichi raised an eyebrow. He doesn't know what to feel when he heard the Digimon's next answer.

"You were."

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

The Chosen Children and the Digimon had finished repairing the castle. They were sleeping when Koushirou's laptop suddenly goes off, it's owner didn't take long to wake up and turn his attention to it.

" _Koushirou-san. Koushirou-san!"_

"Gennai-san!" One by one, the children and Digimons wake up because of the noise. Then Koushirou proceed to tell him what had happened hours ago.

"We tried using our Digivices and D-3 to search for him, but the fog was messing with the signal."

Hikari joined in the conversation. "We have to find my brother. I'm scared BlackWarGreymon's hurting him again." BlackWarGreymon be damned, she wants her brother back!

Gennai was contemplating things in his mind. _"I don't think BlackWarGreymon would do anything to harm Taichi-san as long as Taichi-san doesn't do anything reckless."_

"But Taichi-kun's health wasn't anywhere near good whenever he gets too close to him!" Jyou points out.

" _Only at first."_ Gennai's answer was confusing everyone.

"Explain." Yamato demands. He was sick and tired hearing the old man explaining in zig-zags.

" _The reason Taichi-san was feeling unhealthy was, in fact, because of BlackWarGreymon's presence. He was feeling on and off again because of how close he was to him. The connection they have is so powerful that they both have to keep up with the balance. Tell me, when Taichi-san was captured the second time, did he faint that time?"_

Hikari shook her head. "No, he was awake when BlackWarGreymon... when he took him away." She whispered the last part. Sora put her hands on the younger girl's shoulder, comforting her.

"What does that mean, Gennai-san?" asked Hawkmon.

" _It means that BlackWarGreymon and Taichi-san's connection is almost balanced so he doesn't need to take as much of Taichi-san's energy anymore."_

Iori frowned. "What do you mean, 'take Taichi-san's energy'?" At the question, Gennai focused his gaze to Hikari.

" _Hikari-san, you said that Taichi-san was covered in orange glow, and the glow then went to cover BlackWarGreymon before he had fainted, correct?"_ Hikari nodded. _"That was because BlackWarGreymon is a Digimon created by an object. Unlike any of you Digimons here that was born from a Digiegg and get your energy from this world, BlackWarGreymon has to get his energy from a source that created him."_ His explanation went halt so the children and Digimons in front of him could keep up.

"So... BlackWarGreymon needs energy to keep existing in this world?" Ken murmured.

Armadillomon speaks up. "His source must be the black object, right?"

Gennai nodded. _"Partially. After Agumon touched the black object, it created, not only a Digimon but it had also released something large to cover this world."_

"The fog..." Koushirou said with realization. "The black object created the fog and BlackWarGreymon. He needs the fog's dark energy to keep existing in this world, but he also needs light energy."

"Ohh, like that Yan and Yang thing, right?" exclaimed Daisuke, clapping his fist against his palm.

Ken face-palmed. "Yin and Yang, Daisuke."

"Yeah, that!"

"I see. And the light energy comes from Taichi-san." Iori concluded.

"That's why Taichi-san passed out, BlackWarGreymon had sucked his energy too much." Takeru comments.

" _Actually, he has been unconsciously devouring Taichi-san's energy and the fog's energy ever since he was created."_ Gennai explained, making Hikari shudder. No wonder her brother seemed so exhausted for the last few days. She had found him napping on the couch a lot these days, and whenever he woke up those times he didn't look refreshed.

"So Taichi's in danger!" Agumon cried. "What if BlackWarGreymon eats his energy too much and there isn't anymore left for Taichi!?" At the exclamation, everyone immediately turns to the laptop.

"Gennai-san!" They shouted in alarm. _"Calm down, everyone. I was going to explain about that next."_ That shut them up. _"The reason Taichi-san did not collapse when he was with BlackWarGreymon the second time is because of what I said before. Their connection is almost balanced. So after a certain amount of time, BlackWarGreymon will not need Taichi's energy to exist anymore, or the energy from the fog."_

Everyone sighed in relief.

There was silence before Tailmon stepped forward. "Gennai-san?"

" _Hmm? Yes, Tailmon?"_

"Why only Taichi's energy, though? Why not Agumon? He _is_ the one who 'activated' the black object, plus he's Taichi's Digimon."

Gennai nodded. _"It's_ precisely _because Agumon is Taichi's Digimon."_

"You mean-" The children and Digimons turned to Ken. "because Agumon exists thanks to Taichi-san, right? Basically, Agumon can digivolve and do other things, and he protects Taichi-san because they are partners, just like us and our own Digimons?"

"I see. So that's why Agumon managed to injure BlackWarGreymon, and BlackWarGreymon seemed to dislike him the most." Koushirou crossed his arms. "They were fighting for their habitat." The red haired boy almost fell backwards when he found himself faced with Tailmon, Palmon, Tentomon, Biyomon and Agumon.

"Hey! We're not animals you know!"

"You're mean, Koushirou-han!"

"That's right!"

"What's a habitat? Taichi's not a habitat, he's my partner!"

The human put up his hands in surrender. "It's just a term! Calm down, guys, please!" The others only laugh at the red haired's distress.

Gennai spoke up again. _"Anyways, as you can see, Taichi-san is not in immediate danger. Still, BlackWarGreymon is very powerful and dangerous so you have to find them soon."_

All of them nodded.

"Wait, Gennai-san! I still have a few more question!" The Child of Knowledge said while being covered by the Digimons that had complained at his comment. Tentomon was on his head, Biyomon was floating next to him, Agumon was hugging his leg while Palmon was on his other leg, and Tailmon was on his arm while his other arm was shooting towards his laptop, motioning for Gennai to not disconnect with them yet. It was a funny scene, actually.

" _What is it, Koushirou-san?"_ He asked and Koushirou grew serious. "That black object... Where did it came from. Who made it? Those are the real questions, right?" The boy narrowed his eyes.

Everybody went quiet at that.

"Well?" Yamato broke the silence.

The old man before them shook his head. _"I do not know."_ He can sense the disappointment from every single one of them. _"It could be a Digimon, it could be a dark part of the Digital World that accidentally created it. But all I know for sure is that the black object could have appeared in other locations and created any other Digimon aside from BlackWarGreymon. But it didn't. Agumon was the one to touch it, resulting in the object to create BlackWarGreymon and target Taichi-san. Honestly, I think it is fate."_

"Fate?"

" _Yes, fate. Just like you all are the Chosen Children who were called to come here; to the Digital World and save it from evil... I think it is fate that this happened again. All I can say is, no matter what the challenge is, or how evil or powerful your enemies are,_ I know _you will rise above them all."_

The group went silent again. But this time, they are filled with motivation.

* * *

.

..

... **tbc**

**.**


	6. Bonding

There was going to be a snowstorm. The safest option was of course, to go home to the human world. To rest for a while; it was the logical thing to do after all. There were injuries and damages that the group have suffered, but none of that seemed to matter as each of them only had one thought in mind.

_We can_ _'t leave Taichi alone._

Still, one of them had to suggest retreat. But of course it was swiftly rejected.

"No. _No._ " "Hikari-cha-" "No! I refuse to go home and be comfortable in my home while I let my brother be with that… _that_ -"

A hand moved to grip her arm, squeezing in assurance. "Hikari-chan, you didn't _let_ Taichi-senpai do anything, okay? If you did, then we're all as much as guilty as you. And we're going to find him, remember?" It was moments like this that makes Hikari feel comforted, especially by Daisuke. It was rare, but he has shown his serious demeanor that encourage her to have faith in him. And his last words which were full of innocence and optimism had managed to turn her lips up, even if only a little bit.

"We still need to know what caused all this to happen though." said Koushirou.

"We should split up. One group will look for Taichi and BlackWarGreymon, and the other will search for the cause of all this." suggested Yamato. It was agreed then that Yamato, Daisuke, Ken, Sora, Jyou and Hikari will go with their respective Digimons to find their original leader, while Koushirou, Mimi, Miyako, Takeru, Iori will stay and try to find out what is truly happening in the Digimon World, also with their respective Digimons.

"YOSH! Let's go kick that Digimon's butt!" Daisuke cheered as he started to lead them away.

"If only it were that simple." Ken said behind him, his head hanging low as he was holding Wormmon tighter in his arms for comfort. The group separated as they said they're goodbyes. One group was heading towards north to follow a certain red dot in their Digivices, while the other was heading back towards the fallen castle. Before they went totally separated though, a certain voice stopped the Child of Light's steps.

"Takeru-kun?" said Hikari while turning around to find the blonde haired boy. He moved to take her hand in his, and after a while, the couple were laced in comfortable silence.

"I don't want you to go…" His voice came out as a whisper, trembling ever so lightly. Hikari closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them.

"But…?" She asked, patiently waiting for him and was glad to hear his reply.

"...But you have to. If it were my brother, _nothing_ would stop me from going." She smiled. They were now looking at each others' eyes, understanding shown in them. He squeezed her hand before letting go and said, "Be careful." _'I'll be waiting for you.'_

"I will. Thank you." _'I will come back to you, safe and sound.'_

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

"Are you okay with that?" whispered Ken cautiously to his best friend. He didn't want to offend him in any way, but he wanted to make sure he was alright.

The receiving end of the genius' concern only put his hand in his pocket and shrugged. "Nothing I could do about that is there? As long as Hikari-chan's happy…" He trailed off before taking a deep breath and letting it out. "and I don't have time to think about that right now. Taichi-senpai's in danger so I'm gonna focus in saving him." the boy smacked his fist to his palm to emphasize his declaration. His resolve were shown only a moment though, when a hand went to rub his head.

"'I'? Don't you mean 'we', oh courageous leader, Daisuke?" Yamato teased, making the others chuckle.

The boy shrugged him off but not offensively, a flush covering his face. "Gah! Stop it, Yamato-Senpai!"

"Couldn't help it! Someone's gotta push you around as long as Taichi's not here!" laughed Yamato. The group laughed along with him, watching as Daisuke continues his round of protest.

They were definitely going to find Taichi and, as the new leader had stated, 'kick BlackWarGreymon's butt'!

* * *

Taichi hates BlackWarGreymon.

He hates him. He really hates him.

_With a passion._

The boy was hungry and hot and cold at the same time, and his head was pounding so hard; it feels like somebody was hitting it with a hammer. His whole body ache and while he was sitting down with his back against the cave's wall and arms around himself to fight off the cold, he can never settle in a comfortable position.

He didn't just hate that Black Devil (yes, he's down to calling names now, sue him) because if it weren't for him, he could be comfortable in his bed right now. No, he _also_ hate him because the damn Digimon was at the moment doing _absolutely nothing_ , except for watching him.

He. Was. Being. Creepy.

For the longest time, Taichi has been trying to sleep (he didn't want to because who could sleep with their kidnapper in the same room- err- cave!) because his fever was once again _oh whoop de do_ back (It's not as bad as before, but he would rather fight the sickness in bed, _not_ on a hard floor).

But he couldn't. Why? Because the creepy Digimon has been, for the same amount of time, watching him without saying a word. At the beginning the brown haired boy was squirming because he felt uneasy that the virus Digimon was watching his every move; now he just didn't care because he felt so exhausted and hot and cold at the same time, and DID HE MENTION HOW MUCH HE HATED THE DAMN DIGIMON!?

"You…" Taichi snapped his eyes open. _'No way… can he read minds!?'_

"...Me?" Taichi hesitantly replied.

He stayed stiffly silent, waiting for the Digimon across him to continue. Strangely, (not that it wasn't strange before) the cave was lapsed in awkward silence except for the cracked sounds from the bonfire.

Annoyed, he decided then that he didn't care if the Digimon killed him now, so he growled, "What the hell do you want? Can't you see I'm dying here? No thanks to you…" For some reason, after the word 'dying' came out of his mouth, BlackWarGreymon seemed alarmed. Or maybe the fever was making him delirious, he didn't know. Or care.

It was silent again for a few minutes before BlackWarGreymon slowly stood up and made his way towards the cave's entrance. "Hey- where are you going?" Can't he see it's storming outside? "Wait!"

Wait a minute.

Why was Taichi stopping him?

He didn't understand. This Digimon had hurt his friends, hurt his partner and little sister. He had took him away from them and he hates him!

…So why does the thought of him going out in a dangerous weather like this shook him?

He knows he's not a heartless human being who wanted his enemies to suffer. Plus the Digimon had hurt his friends, and if it weren't for him, Taichi wouldn't be in this mess.

...

But still...

"Hey! I said wait!" Taichi shouted as he stood up swaying. He moved to lean on the wall so he doesn't fall. His cry had stopped BlackWarGreymon from taking another step, but he wasn't sitting back down either. He only turned his head to face him, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Sleep." He said.

Taichi froze. It took him a few moments for giving a reply, "I already told you, don't tell me what to do."

BlackWarGreymon only gave him another look before giving him another response. "Sleep. I'll be back." Taichi's eyes widen.

As soon as he said that, the Dragon Man Digimon was gone.

Had he… Had BlackWarGreymon comforted him? Wait a minute, did he think Taichi didn't want to be left alone so he assured him that he'll be back?

"No way..." Taichi's mouth hang open until he couldn't stay standing and slid off the wall to land on his butt on the ground. He decides he wasn't ever going to understand the Digimon, so why even bother trying!?

"I give up." He closed his eyes. The day's events has exhaust him. "Huh… didn't know he was a Terminator fan" the boy mumbled as he, despite the cold, drifted to sleep.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

As Taichi began to wake up, he notices three things: one, the snowstorm had stopped. Two, he was feeling warm and three, he wasn't alone.

He slowly sat up, his hand on the ground to support him from falling while the other against his forehead to check on his fever. He concluded that while it had not been a good sleep, a rest is still a rest and it had helped bring his fever down. As to him feeling warm, he realized that a blanket was covering him. _'Wait, this wasn't here before.'_

Before he could ask anymore questions in his mind, a pile of fruit landed next to him. He looks up to find a pair of gold eyes staring back at him. "Uh…" BlackWarGreymon didn't notice his confusion as he went to sit beside Taichi. He flinched a little, not used to the Digimon being so close when he's not sending hate-slash-anger-slash-fear towards him. When he's settled, he nodded at the food and said,

"Eat." Taichi's jaw dropped.

"Huh?" He could smack himself for sounding so stupid. "I, I mean- this is for me?" He could _punch_ himself for sounding stupider.

BlackWarGreymon's face stays blank as he says nothing. Taichi looks at him, then to the pile of fruit before repeating the same motion three more times. "I'm… not sure I can eat that…" He muttered while looking at the colorful fruits. He was pretty sure they were fruits, but he wasn't familiar with the shapes. And it wasn't like he's never eaten anything from the Digimon World, they were delicious in fact, it's just the thought of eating them with an enemy…

And suddenly, BlackWarGreymon was in his face. "GAH!" His hands flailed around to keep him from falling backwards. "Hey, what's the big idea!? Don't scare me like that!" His hiss didn't seem to affect BlackWarGreymon as the Digimon only stares at him in bemusement.

" _Eat._ " He said with finality this time.

"Seriously? How many times do I have to tell you _not_ to tell me what to do?" Taichi picks up an orange one nonetheless _'It's the hunger! I'm hungry, not scared of him! …Okay, maybe a little…'_ and started to eat. "Where did you get these anyway? And the blanket?" He asked after finishing one and went for another.

"I took them from a village nearby." Taichi almost choked.

"YOU STOLE THEM!?" He roared, temper rising at the image of the Digimon hurting a village full of Digimons so he could take away their food and blanket for him. The armored Digimon didn't flinch.

"It was storming last night. I was looking for something warm for you, and then I saw a creature… like me, I think, but so much smaller-" "A Digimon, yes?" He nodded. "It was almost buried in the snow. The sight… irritates me, so I picked it up. It awoke and had the nerve to ask me to bring it to it's village. I was about to put him back to where he was before-" "But you _didn't_ , right!?" If BlackWarGreymon had eyebrows, he would surely raise one right now.

"Will you let me finish?"

"Right, right, sorry." Taichi sheepishly said while scratching his wild hair.

"I didn't put him back in the snow and instead brought him to where he wanted me to bring him. After that it… said 'thank you'. It wanted me to stay when I began to leave, but I could not because I had told you that I'll be back. It then gave me this," He pointed at the blanket, "and this," then to the pile of fruits, "as a way of saying 'thank you'.

For god knows how many times in the past few days, Taichi was struck silent. BlackWarGreymon; the same Digimon who had hurt his friends, hunt him down, and kidnapped him… had saved another Digimon. And last night he had left so he could look for something warm… for him?

Taichi shook his head. "Why did you save it? The Digimon, I mean?"

"I thought I told you, the sight irritates me." Taichi could scream. There he goes again, speaking in a language that seems completely reasonable to himself, but not to him! The boy closed his eyes in frustration. He put his hands against his temples and as he began to massage them, he went for a different question. "Fine, then… why did you accept those gifts from it?"

"Because you had told me to." He stopped his movement and automatically opens his eyes. He was greeted by a pair of golden eyes. He was struck by the sincerity in them, something that he didn't think the dark Digimon could express.

"What do you mean?"

"I could not find something warm. So I let it do it for me." _'When you can't do something, you should let others do it for you.'_

Taichi's eyes went wide.

He didn't understand the Digimon in front of him. He doesn't think he ever will. But as he took a glance at the blanket on his lap and the fruit in his hand, then to the Digimon's face which doesn't look as cold as he had first saw him, he decided that he didn't hate BlackWarGreymon as much anymore.

...

Well, at least he could cross out 'with a passion'.

* * *

.

..

**...tbc**

**.**


	7. Nightmare

_Darkness._

" _mon-"_

_Someone was calling him._

" _..g.. mon-"_

_It was a familiar voice._

" _...gumon-"_

_The voice,_

" _Agumon-"_

_it belongs to someone dear to him._

" _Agumon…!"_

_They're in distress, they're- they're in trouble!_

" _Agumon! Help me!"_

_His eyes snapped open. "Tai.. chi…?" He quickly looks at his surroundings, letting out a growl when he saw only darkness everywhere but the thing;_ the person _he was looking for was not in sight. "Taichi!"_

" _Agumon!" He turned around to find two figures clad by shadows, emerging after a few seconds. It was Taichi- and... BlackWarGreymon!?_

_The sight that surprised him was the fact that Taichi, his partner, his most beloved friend, was standing beside the black Digimon, hands in his pockets and looking anything but uncomfortable. This made him very confused. More confused than a human girl's hormones that Taichi once or twice had complained about._

" _Taichi, there you are! We've been looking all over for you!" The lizard Digimon smiled despite his confusion. He quickly replaced it with a frown. "Get away from him, Taichi, he's dangerous!" He warned, but Taichi made no move to step away from the source of his uneasiness._

" _Taichi?"_

" _What are you talking about, Agumon?"_

_A beat. "Huh?"_

" _BlackWarGreymon's not dangerous. He's my partner, remember?"_

_Time seemed to stop for the little Digimon. "…Huh?"_

_He began to sweat. His eyes went wide and body tense. He could feel his heartbeat starting to go fast as he ponders the statement of his partner, or, supposed… partner? "Wha- what are you saying, Taichi?" The question barely managed to come out, his trembling voice unrecognizable even to him. "He's your-? But I'm-"_

" _Hmm?"_

" _I'm-_ I'm _your partner! Did you forget that?" Agumon tried to look into his friend's eyes, noticing that they were different than hours ago when his small body was in his lap. They look so cold and indifferent. The question left unanswered and he couldn't bear the look Taichi was giving him anymore, so he turned to his only logical explanation; "_ You! _You did something to Taichi, didn't you!?"_

_The pair stayed quiet so Agumon kept on, "Taichi would never play a prank like this on me, so you must have done something! Taichi, get away from him now, he's dangerous!" He repeated._

_The boy in question only raised an eyebrow. "Agumon… the only one dangerous here is_ you _."_

_Agumon's eyes went wide in shock. What is Taichi talking about. He's… dangerous?_

_And suddenly, the Digimon doesn't feel like he's in his normal body anymore. No, he was bigger, his eye and body color were different, his body shape, his_ mind _\- he was…_

_**He was SkullGreymon.** _

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

"NO!"

"AGUMON!"

Agumon's eyes snapped open as he let out a gasp. In front of him were Gabumon, Biyomon, and Tailmon. The others, he noticed while still breathing hard, were not too far behind them. They look groggy and sleepy as if just woken up.

"Are you alright? You were having a nightmare." Hikari asked soothingly as she rubbed the Digimon's back.

"You were tossing and turning in your sleep, you woke us up." Tailmon exclaimed, not with an offending tone. So he was right, they did just woke up… because of him.

It got quiet because his friends wanted to give him space and he was too busy catching his breath. He then provided a response, "Y, yeah… It was a nightmare, but you guys don't need to worry!" He quickly assured them.

"Really? Must've been quite a nightmare, though, to make you scream like that." said Yamato.

"You can tell us about it, you know. Might make you feel better." smiled Daisuke.

"But you don't have to if you don't want to." Ken said while Wormmon nods, agreeing.

Usually when being the center of attention Agumon would boast, yet this time he was feeling insecure. Probably because of the nightmare. "It's… nothing." He expected the group's disappointed looks when he took a glance up, but instead he was met with warm and reassuring smiles.

"Okay, Agumon. We understand." Sora smiled at him before turning to the others. "We should all get some more sleep since it's not morning yet." All of them nodded, a few yawns let out when the thought of them waking up in the middle of the night just went though their heads. Agumon was given a few pats on the back by his Digimon friends. After that they went to their partners who were scattered around the campfire. Suddenly, he feels alone. All of them had their human partners but not him.

It wasn't even a day yet and he misses his Taichi.

"You miss Taichi don't you?"

Agumon turned to a smiling Sora. This time, her smile was less comforting and full of sadness.

Agumon nods. "You miss him too." He said knowingly.

The red hair gave him a small nod, a hand petting Biyomon's head while her Digimon drifted in and out of sleep. For a few moments, only the cracked sounds from the fire filled the quietness.

"It's about Taichi."

The girl glanced at the Digimon. "The nightmare?" She asked to which he nodded. "Well, don't worry. We won't stop until we find him, and we will." Her other hand moved to pet the lizard's head, but the gesture didn't seem to comfort him.

"It's not that!" He almost snapped before reminding himself to calm. "I'm… I'm scared of hurting him…"

Sora retracted her hand, confused. "Why would you hurt him?"

"Because-" Agumon clenched his eyes shut. "because I was SkullGreymon..." _'In my dream.'_

The girl's eyes widened. Did Agumon mean years ago when he first digivolved into SkullGreymon because of Taichi's mistake? Yes, he attacked them, but none of them were hurt too badly. Or did he mean when Ken-no, the Digimon Emperor forced him to digivolve into that monster? Or maybe…

"Did you dream you were him again?" He was silent before giving a small and hesitant nod. The look on his face, so scared and fragile, Sora wondered what her childhood friend would do at a time like this. Surely he would comfort his Digimon partner, albeit a bit different from what she would do to comfort her own. He'd most likely pet him, or maybe even smack him in the head, and the green eyed Digimon would complain as Taichi held him and he would relax instantly in his arms. And maybe he would tell him how stupid he was for thinking that he could ever hurt him.

But Sora was not Taichi, so she decided to just continue petting the small Digimon to comfort him. "Oh, Agumon, you won't hurt him."

Agumon continues staring at the ground. "How do you know?"

"Because you love him." His pair of green eyes widen as they stare at Sora's face, as if searching for doubt. But there was none. Her smiling face was different from the one before, it was filled with confidence and comfort.

Her words unconsciously made Agumon nod. "...Yeah" He found himself smiling as he silently agrees to the truth of Sora's words. "Yeah... I love Taichi… he's my partner after all" He whispered with a smile, eyes focusing on the fire in front of them while a picture of a smiling boy with goggles and wild brown hair appears on his mind.

* * *

"Dude!" The brown haired boy shouted, his voice hoarse caused by the scream he let out a bit earlier.

"Stop screaming." The black Digimon groweled as he landed after a long flight, wings retracted from their earlier position. "It's annoying."

"Me!? I wouldn't scream if you'd just gave me a warning before snatching me up like a sack of rice and suddenly taking off like that! Not all of us likes to fly here!" Of course that doesn't mean he was afraid of flying. He has done that a few times, yes, but it's usually when he was in a hurry with the others. Plus, he's more used to taking a ride on Greymon's shoulder or his giant palm. "Why did you suddenly take off like that anyway?" asked the boy with a calmer tone.

"I felt your followers were gaining on us." answered BlackWarGreymon as he began walking towards the woods.

"Oh…" Taichi trailed off. He wanted nothing more than to go back to his friends. The thought of escaping from BlackWarGreymon has occurred to him many times, but he was afraid that if he succeeds, the black Digimon would throw a tantrum and this time, finally kill his friends. Damn it, it's not like he regretted leaving his friends, but he could definitely use a familiar face right now! You know, for comfort…

"What's wrong?" The sound of BlackWarGreymon's not-so-blank voice (is that a hint of caring in his tone?) broke him out of his thoughts. Taichi gave him a confused stare as he noticed that he was still in the Digimon's arm. Literally. It was sooo different than how he was taken on their first flight. Back then he was gripped harshly, arms going numb with his blood rushing to his head. Now he actually felt… comfortable. He was literary sitting on BlackWarGreymon's arm, the Digimon's hand (claw?) under his thigh so he doesn't fall. He was facing him with his hands against his armored chest. The Digimon continues walking as if not noticing anything though.

"Err, you can put me down, you know?" Taichi murmured hesitantly, looking up at his enemy's face. Was he still an enemy though?

His source of confusion only spared him a glance before turning back on the road in front of him. "Watching you walk with your feet like that… irritates me."

" _Everything_ irritates you." grumbled Taichi, face flushing. What the Digimon meant is that his feet were getting frostbite and it was not a nice sight. At least they had been wrapped up with bandages made from the blanket he was given before but whatever, he didn't want to risk his feet getting infected. "If you hadn't kidnapped me when I was in bed then we wouldn't have this problem." Technically it was his friends' fault for not putting shoes on him before they had carried him to run away from BlackWarGreymon's attack, _but details._

The Digimon only 'hummed' in response.

"Where are you taking me anyway, man?" Taichi yawned. Wow, was he sleepy.

"The mountain over there." BlackWarGreymon nodded at his point of destination. Taichi blinked his eyes open. "A mountain?"

True to his words, there was a mountain in their path, about five kilometers. It was covered in snow and would probably be a nice place to go to, if not for the dark, creepy fog surrounding it. Taichi frowned. "You're kidding right? Is that where you want to kill me?" He tried to joke but cringed.

"I already told you, I don't want to kill you."

"Then what do you want from me!?" The boy threw his hands up frustratingly, he was so exhausted and frustrated, and all he wanted to do was go home to his friends and family and sleep for two months!

BlackWarGreymon went silent, his grip on Taichi hardened but none too harshly as the boy expected. He doesn't know what to expect anymore. He wasn't afraid at the Digimon anymore, only annoyed more than anything. And he just wanted to know, why him? Of course there were times when Daisuke or the other new Chosen Children were facing the dangers of the world and he wanted nothing more than to take their place, but _why him!?_

"I…" The Digimon was about to answer when both of them heard a rustling sound. They turned to try to find the source.

"What was that?" whispered Taichi.

"I don't know. It's too dark to see." said BlackWarGreymon.

"Don't you have super sight or something? You know, since you're a mega and all?" Taichi didn't receive a response.

It was silent for a few seconds before- "VINE ATTACK!"

Taichi let out a scream (a manly scream, mind you), as he landed on the ground. He quickly got up to see that BlackWarGreymon's arms and legs has been tied up by tree vines that looked strong enough to stop his movement.

"What the-"

"Kukukukukukuku" The laugh came from a figure who emerged from the bushes. It revealed a Digimon in the form of a tree, a sinister smile was on his face.

"You're… Cherrymon!?"

"Not quite! It is I, DarkCherrymon! And I have come to retrieve you, Child of Courage!"

Is it him, or does every Dark Digimon now have an interest in kidnapping him? "You're kidding, right?" He was struggling to stand up right, his feet throbbing with ache but the adrenaline was doing a good job to numb the full out pain. "First him and now you? What do you want from me!"

"You do not need to ask questions, child. Just come with me quietly and no one will get hurt." The plant Digimon grins creepily while approaching Taichi. Taichi took a step back.

"Not a chance, you creep!"

The smile was gone and replaced by a glare. Apparently, the tree Digimon didn't like being called names. "And I was offering you a nice ride to my master!" He yelled in anger, more vines coming out of his roots flying towards Taichi. Taichi managed to dodge a few of the menacing things coming at him, but the sudden pain in his feet made his knees buckle. Caught off guard, Taichi was sure he was going to be captured, but he was proven wrong when he heard slashes.

He opened his eyes wide and he realized BlackWarGreymon was now in front of him, protecting him from the offending objects by slashing them away with his claws. Taichi, from where he had fallen, sat in disbelief. _'Why… did he protect me?'_

BlackWarGreymon stood in front of him, head turned to glance at the brown hair. "Are you alright?"

"Uh…" He felt like he really should punch himself because today he's feeling especially stupid; giving out unintelligent responses like that! "Y, yeah", he managed.

"YOU FOOL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FIGHTING WITH ME!?" roared DarkCherrymon after regaining his focus.

BlackWarGreymon frowned. "What are _you_ doing, suddenly attacking us?" The question caught DarkCherrymon off guard. "You- I-" He opened his mouth before closing it, before opening it again like a fish. After a few moments of calming himself down, the Digimon sneered.

"So I was right, you _did_ betray us." The pair in front of him stood confused. "Huh? What do you mean, _us_?" The only human of the trio asked, he took a step away from both the Digimon, a sick feeling in his gut as he suddenly remembered that BlackWarGreymon wasn't exactly his ally. If the black Digimon noticed his motion, he didn't say anything. But his glare directed at the Digimon in front of him darkens.

" _Explain._ " Ordered BlackWarGreymon at the plant Digimon.

Despite his grin, DarkCherrymon gulped. He had to play this right. "I have been watching you both since you made your journey from ShogunGekomon's Castle. I thought you were on your way to bring him to us," He pointed at Taichi with his trunk "but you were taking a long time. I thought you had betrayed us, so I decided to do the job myself."

"Which brings you to attack him and tried to capture me…" Taichi concluded while BlackWarGreymon stayed silent. DarkCherrymon took that as a sign to speak again.

"Now you have been reminded… BlackWarGreymon, let's take the child to our master! I will kindly ask him for your pardon for taking so long!"

' _Crap!'_ He didn't think his kidnapper actually had accomplices! He needs to get away from here! _'but how? My feet's burning as hell as it is!'_ He didn't even notice he was leaning against a tree to keep himself upright.

"'Our master'?" repeated BlackWarGreymon. His question took Taichi and DarkCherrymon's attention, successfully stopping their plans and thoughts. "I don't know you or your master. And if there is a master for me," He turned around to look straight at the human behind him. "then it is only him."

Taichi's eyes widen, his jaw dropping in awe. He couldn't believe that those words actually came out of the Digimon's mouth. He can't seem to move, gold eyes staring right at his pair of brown ones, their gaze freezing him in place.

They stood in silence. It was like BlackWarGreymon was waiting for him to talk back at him like before, but the boy had been rendered speechless.

It wasn't long when DarkCherrymon's jaw was brought back up from the floor to break the silence. "Fool! For betraying our master, the darkest and mightiest Digimon, I SHALL PUNISH YOU! VINE ATTACK!" The vines were back to attacking the pair, making BlackWarGreymon broke the boy and his (staring contest 2.0?) connection. His eyes were now glinting in anger, a dangerous look in place.

"Gaia…" As he heard the attack being released, Taichi quickly took a hold of himself and yelled, "BlackWarGreymon, wait! Don't kill him!"

Hearing his name being called, BlackWarGreymon automatically stopped his movement. But that didn't stop the attacks coming towards them, so he moved at intense speed to grab the Chosen Child out of harms way. After landing swiftly on his legs, BlackWarGreymon turns his attention to his source of annoyance.

"Why did you tell me to wait? I could have finished him in a second." He growled. The boy was making him feel a lot of things and he was grateful that he wasn't feeling that emptiness anymore, but what he was feeling right now was anything but pleasant.

Taichi yelled exasperatedly, his awe for the Digimon before already replaced by aggravation. "See, that's your problem! You're too quick to decide on killing! Haven't you heard of the saying: 'All lives matter'!?" It was a sight to see, a teenage boy in the arms of a mega Digimon, bridal style no less, were in each others' throats and none were backing down from their arguments.

"If it's not you, then I don't care whose life is it!"

"That's not a healthy reason!"

"Did you forget who saved your life!?"

"Who saved- my life wouldn't even be in danger if you hadn't kidnapped me in the first place you big, stupid oaf!"

"What did you say?"

"I said you're stupid! A stupid Digimon who can't even light a campfire properly!"

"And you're just a human brat with a loud mouth!"

"At least I can light a goddamn fire!"

"Do you ever stop talking!? YOU'RE IRRITATING!"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

Silence.

For awhile, the only sound that can be heard was Taichi panting, out of breath from yelling and exhaustion.

The two didn't notice that they were now dangerously surrounded by black mist coming out of their enemy's body. " **Illusion Mist**." DarkCherrymon was now gone from their sight, and Taichi couldn't help but shudder when he realized that the mist created was so dark, he could only see BlackWarGreymon's eyes. It wasn't long before the next round of attacks suddenly appear.

"Crap!" yelled Taichi as he felt vines were grabbing his arms, legs and neck, gripping him tight in the air and making him unable to move. Soon, he found that it was hard to breathe.

"Struggling is futile." mocked DarkCherrymon. As the mist began to clear, Taichi with his blurring sight, was able to make out a big form being immobilized by a hundred of vines. "This attack is different, I'm afraid. Thanks to my master, these vines are special! You could say they are stronger than steel!" The plant Digimon laugh with pride. Taichi squinted his eyes to try to look at the tied up BlackWarGreymon. He couldn't see his eyes anymore. His golden eyes…

"Blac…kwar..gr…eymon…" croaked Taichi, his hand struggling to reach the tied up Digimon but it was useless. He couldn't breathe. He felt himself choking. The pressure around his neck was making him lose consciousness. "Ag… Agu…mon... he… lp…"

As the world face to black, Taichi hears a familiar voice. _'It belongs to someone dear to me'_ was his last thoughts before he completely lost consciousness.

* * *

.

..

… **tbc**

**.**


	8. Agumon to the Rescue!

Koushirou, Mimi, Takeru, Miyako and Iori, along with Tentomon, Palmon, Patamon, Hawkmon and Armadillomon were all on their way to the place that started this all: the underground where the black object had been found.

They were all back to the island where they were having a picnic before they got transported to File Island. A few kilometers from where they had eaten a few days ago, was a cracked ground, leading to an underground pathway. They began to walk with Tentomon as their lead.

After about a half an hour of walking from the surface to deep in the ground, they all stopped to find a clearing. "There's not much to see here" The red hair of the group concluded after observing the room. "except for that little cave over there…" he trailed off, moving to inspect the small space.

"Is that where the black object was?" asked Hawkmon while looking at Tentomon for confirmation.

Tentomon nodded. "Yes. And when Agumon touched it, it looked as if it was turning into a big shape of some kind before completely vanishing." Takeru frowned, completely focused on the insect Digimon, not minding that his own Digimon was sitting comfortably on his head.

"What was it's original shape? And how do you know it's black? You know it's too dark in here without a flashlight." He asked.

"It's shape was square, Takeru-han. And when Agumon and I were here, we were with Gennai-han and he lent us a light. Oh, and the black object was really black, so much darker than this cave. Really, it gave Gennai-han and I chills! Only Agumon was brave enough to touch it without a second thought." explain Tentomon while shuddering.

"Still, this place doesn't explain the fact where the black object had came from." Koushirou murmured while crouching in front of the small space.

' _I think I finally have the answer for that, Koushirou-san'_ The group jumped at the sudden voice. It definitely didn't come from one of them so it must be...

"Gennai-san!" As soon as Koushirou opened his laptop, everyone quickly swarmed over him.

"Gennai-san, did you get more information about these events?" Iori asked politely with a hint of urgency in his tone.

"I hope you do, Gennai-san, because we're practically facing a dead end here!" Mimi shook her head in disappointment of their progress. Not to mention she was tired from all the journey. Seeing her partner's worn face, Palmon became worried. "Are you alright, Mimi?"

Despite her obvious uneasiness, the pinkette smile at her Digimon. "Of course, Palmon! I just want all this to be over so we can all go home, especially Taichi-san. I'm sure he wants to go home more than all of us right now." Palmon gave her a smile back.

"As expected of Onee-sama, always thinking of others!" boasted Miyako.

"Umm, guys" Koushirou reminded them to keep it down so the old wise man can talk. "So, what's the verdict Gennai-san?"

When Gennai's face turn grim, the group immediately has a bad feeling. _'Minna-san… I'm afraid… that the situation is much more grim than I had thought,'_

* * *

"We're getting closer!" Yamato stated, eyes never leaving his Digivice. The Save-Taichi-senpai-from-the-Evil-BlackWarGreymon Retrieval Group (name courtesy of Daisuke, of course) was inside the flying Imperialdramon: Dragon Mode to follow the red dot that is Taichi's Digivice signal.

"Wait a minute Yamato! Are you sure we shouldn't encounter them slowly?" Jyou asked while clutching his bag, ready to take out his first aid-kit supplies if they were to be reunited with an injured Taichi. Better be save than sorry.

"Should I switch my stealth mode on, Jyou?" Gomamon cheered from beside him. Jyou sweatdropped. He couldn't imagine Gomamon being quiet in anything. "I don't think so, Gomamon."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Jyou-senpai, 'cause we did that already, and the big oaf took off!" Daisuke complained. "Hey, that rhymed!" he cheered. Everyone sweatdropped.

"It's like he knows we were coming." murmured Ken.

"Well whatever he can do, it won't stop us from getting to Taichi." Yamato gritted his teeth with determination.

The rest of them nodded in silence.

They were thrown of guard, though, when Imperialdramon suddenly makes a brake. The motion made the group shouted in alarm. It was a few seconds before the shaking stopped.

"Is everybody alright?" asked Yamato, his hand on his head to try easing it from the sudden dizziness. Gabumon was quick on his side, looking almost frantic, but he waved him off with a pat on the head. His question were replied by a bunch of 'we're alright' and 'we're barely managing, but we're fine'.

"What happened?" Sora asked with her hands on Hikari's shoulder to steady her. Agumon, Biyomon and Tailmon stood next to the pair protectively. "Why did we stop?"

"I dunno." answered Daisuke before glancing up to get his and Ken's Digimons' attention. "Imperialdramon, what happened?"

" **...We can't move on.** " They said.

"What's wrong?" Ken.

" **There's something blocking the way.** " The chosen children turned to look at each other, clearly trying to understand the statement. Then, they found out the moment they take a look outside; there was a black fog, even darker than the fog currently surrounding the Digital World and it looks frightening.

"You're telling me Taichi-senpai's in _there_!?"

"Guess we'll have to find out." Yamato grimly said.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

Soon the group found out that it wasn't just Imperialdramon who could not enter the area, it was all of them… except for Agumon.

"What makes you so special, Agumon?" Gomamon wondered.

Agumon shook his head. "Dunno."

To the rest of them, beyond the thick black fog, was a dark barrier formed like a glass, which were keeping them out of a forest. Each Digimon had tried to destroy it but even their evolved form had not done any scratch. The humans of the group had also tried entering but to no avail. It took about ten minutes before Agumon finally snapped. He wanted nothing more than to be with Taichi so he ran full face at the barrier, only to be thrown inside of it. Each and everyone of them didn't have a single clue as to why the barrier had let only Agumon in.

"No… but my brother's in there." Hikari was frustrated at the thought of her brother being so close yet so far. Tailmon patted her leg for comfort. "Don't worry Hikari, we can count on Agumon." said the cat Digimon.

"Yeah, I'll bring him back. I promise!" Agumon smiled up at his partner's sister. Seeing the confident smile, the child of light nodded and gave a smile back.

"You sure you can find him without the Digivices?" asked the blond of the group. At the question, Agumon nodded seriously. "I can feel him. He's near."

"Alright." Yamato then faced the others. "While Agumon look for Taichi, we're going to search for a way around the barrier. We all agree?" There were choruses of 'yes' and soon the group and the yellow Digimon went on their separate ways.

It wasn't long until Agumon took off running, his mind and body screaming at him to run towards a certain direction.

* * *

"BABY FLAME!" The sudden attack threw DarkCherrymon off guard as it lands on his back, successfully burning his trunks.

"AH! It hurts! IT HURTS!" He cried in pain. His attacker paid him no mind as he continues by giving out his signature move.

"Cross Fight!" yelled Agumon while slashing away the vines around his partner's body, making him land on the ground. Agumon searched Taichi's face. He wanted nothing more than to run to him and make sure he was alright, but he can't turn his back on an enemy. So as soon as he saw that his partner was still breathing, he settled on standing in front of his lying form protectively.

He was going to make his enemy pay.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

DarkCherrymon was shocked to say the least. His vines and trunks; his body, even though it still looks like a dark tree, should have been as strong as even the strongest metal, thanks to his master! So why in the world did a small fire manage to burn him?

Despite having manage to put out the fire on his back, the burn feeling lingered. He moved to face the boy he had captured just moments ago and he found that his attacker was right there in front of him, ready to fight. The plant Digimon was angry at being interrupted for the umpteenth time, and was about to use his vines again. But something made him stop.

No.

Not something, _someone_.

The Digimon in front of him, who has his focus on him, with a gaze full of hatred was.. _intimidating_ him.

Him! A Digimon, full of pride and power was sweating because of a small Digimon!? Plus he still had the lingering question of how he had even manage to injure him!

This yellow thing should be afraid of him! He was bigger and his many strong vines were ready to attack after all. But the Digimon didn't show any fear. He stood like a warrior protecting his master.

"Y, you… what are you?" _'Drats!'_ thought DarkCherrymon as he realized his voice had trembled. _'No matter. I just have to think this through calmly, then I'll take the boy quietly!'_

"I'm Agumon. I'm Taichi's Digimon partner. Who are _you_?" growled Agumon.

"Now, now, there is no need to be so hostile. My name is DarkCherrymon, and I'm here to complete the mission given to me by my master, that's all." He forced a smile that Agumon didn't like one bit. He reminded him of that sleazing, manipulating Digimon, PicoDevimon.

"What's your mission? And what does it have to do with Taichi?" He growled again. DarkCherrymon only smirked as a response. Agumon frowned before he realized the ground beneath him was shaking.

DarkCherrymon let out a laugh as he shout, "Vine Attack!" Vines sprouted out from the grounds around Agumon and Taichi. The lizard quickly grabs his unconscious partner onto his back as he leaps and leaps away from the vines' each strikes.

"Gwahahahaha! Jump, Digimon! Jump and jump away!" taunted DarkCherrymon, giving no indication to stop. He brushed off his quivering feelings from before as he continues to focus on his assault. But he was too focused on what was in front of him that he failed to notice a grim form standing behind him.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

"GUAHHH!" The moment Agumon heard a scream, the attacks stopped. His eyes land on the sight of BlackWarGreymon injuring DarkCherrymon's body with his claws. He could see the black Digimon's eyes were dark in anger as he stepped closer to the plant Digimon sprawled on the ground.

"Nononono, wait!" He said frantically as BlackWarGreymon grabbed him harshly to lift him up to his eye level. "Please, please don't kill me!" He begged, clearly confused as to why his supposedly strong body had been injured this much, but accepting defeat nonetheless.

"I should kill you." BlackWarGreymon's eyes flashed with emotion. Agumon contemplated that in confusion because the last he had seen him, his eyes were dark, blank and cold. DarkCherrymon whimpered.

"You've hurt him and had tried to take him away from me. I should kill you…" He then turned to the unconscious form of his master on the small Digimon's back, making Agumon tighten his grip on Taichi's arms. "but if I do, I'm afraid he will hate me even more." Agumon's green eyes widened.

Time seemed to stop for Agumon, but only for a few moments because he was soon snapped out of his thoughts when he heard DarkCherrymon grunting in pain from where BlackWarGreymon had thrown him.

The plant Digimon rubbed at his back. He opened his clenched eyes to find to pair of eyes glaring back at him. BlackWarGreymon's form was big and strong, his cold eyes were looking down at him like he was a mere pest who held no importance to him at all. Next to him was Agumon whose eyes were filled with a firey passion and hate.

"Go back to your master. If I see you around again, I _will_ kill you." BlackWarGreymon dangerously growled, making DarkCherrymon froze in fear.

"Go on, SCRAM!" yelled Agumon. His yell snapped DarkCherrymon from his frozen state and he quickly ran back into the woods.

Despite the reduce of enemy, Agumon could not afford to breathe in relief, after all he still has one enemy to face. _'Plus, he's stronger than that plant. I have to take Taichi out of here.'_

He stared into BlackWarGreymon's eyes challengingly, refusing to give up on a staring contest. Was this a staring contest, though?

"You again." hissed the big Digimon. Well that was different. The last time he had address to Agumon, BlackWarGreymon spoke as if he was a mere insect, now he called him like he hated him. That didn't mean he was intimidated though.

"Yeah, _me_ again." spatted the small Digimon.

"I have no time to waste with you. Give me my master." Agumon raised an eyebrow at his demand, confused.

"Your master?" The lizard saw that the armor Digimon wasn't looking at him anymore, but at the male on his back. "You mean _Taichi_?" BlackWarGreymon's silence answered him.

_'BlackWarGreymon's my partner'_

_'What are you talking about, Agumon? The only one dangerous here-'_

Agumon furiously shook his head to brush off the memory.

"No, he's not your _master_!" He spat, eyes glaring at the big form in front of him. "Taichi's _my_ _partner_!" BlackWarGreymon seems confused at the word.

"Partner?" He asked while tilting his head ever so lightly, the gesture almost threw Agumon off guard.

"Y, yeah." answered Agumon, uncertain. "Don't you know what that means?" Again, BlackWarGreymon went silent.

The lizard shook his head again before settling a glare on his opponent's face. He didn't understand. A couple year's back when he met the other BlackWarGreymon, he had the patience to start a conversation with him. He even thought of the late Digimon as a friend.

But with this one… he could feel nothing but anxiousness and hate. Was it because of what Koushirou had said; that they were fighting for their habitat? For Taichi?

Well, if that's the case then he won't let anyone, let alone _BlackWarGreymon,_ touch him.

"You said Taichi's your master? That's wrong." growled Agumon.

BlackWarGreymon replied with another growl, like an animal ready to fight for it's territory. "And why is that?" He asked menacingly.

"How could you be his underling or whatever if you couldn't even protect him!? If you couldn't even fight for him!" Agumon roared, not showing any fear towards the big Digimon, only anger.

Something flashed in BlackWarGreymon's eyes, but the yellow Digimon didn't care. Yes, Taichi was taken when he himself was there, but he didn't let him go without a fight, whereas BlackWarGreymon had only stood there inside that vine-cage thingy.

The two then stood in silence.

It wasn't until a few seconds later when a soft groan could be heard by both of them.

Agumon quickly but gently laid Taichi on his back, his eyes focusing back and forth towards his friend and his enemy. He wasn't about to let his guard down around his friend's kidnapper, but for some reason, the black Digimon wasn't making any moves.

"Taichi? Taichi, wake up!" Agumon put his palm on his partner's chest, gently shaking him. He had understood years ago that humans at this condition were fragile so he has to handle them with care.

He was still shaking him when Taichi let out a mumble. "Tai-" "Bl…" Agumon's froze.

"Bl..ack…war…greymon.."

...

...

"...Taichi?"

He eyed his partner in disbelief.

After all the black Digimon had done; hurting him and his friends, destroying ShogunGekomon's castle, taken him away from Agumon… why… _why_ would Taichi whisper his enemy's name like that?

Like…

Like he was a friend…?

_'What are you talking about, Agumon?'_

_'Huh?'_

_'BlackWarGreymon's not dangerous. He's my partner, remember?'_

The boy's sleeping face was the last thing Agumon saw before he felt something sharp penetrating him in his chest.

' _ **Agumon… the only one dangerous here is you.'**_

And his world was covered in black.

* * *

.

..

… **tbc**

**.**


	9. Skullgreymon

Hikari was so worried. No wait, worried doesn't even begin to describe her feelings at the moment.

She was _terrified_.

Just a few minutes ago, she and her friends were hastily looking for a way into the barrier separating her brother from the outside world and they were trying to get him back from the hands of BlackWarGreymon. Currently, after giving up on finding another way in, her partner Digimon, Birdramon, Garurumon, Flamedramon, Stingmon, and Ikkakumon were once again trying their best to destroy the dark barrier.

It was too soon to give up on finding another way in, but the Digimons had said that aside from BlackWarGreymon and Agumon, they could feel another Digimon inside the barrier. As soon as their partners stated that, the humans could also feel and hear a fight going on inside. Yes, they couldn't see what was going on because of the trees and the dark, but they could feel the ground shaking.

It wasn't long until they heard someone screaming in pain.

It was Taichi.

"Dammit, can't we do anything!?" Yamato yelled out as he punched the ground in frustration.

The cry made the Digimons attack the barrier with more force now, not caring that they have all been going at it for awhile and the fact that they're all tired.

Meanwhile the humans didn't know what to do. But Daisuke was a man of action, so he did what he could only do at the moment; run towards the dark barrier and start punching it.

"Taichi-senpai! Taichi-senpai!" The boy gritted his teeth, chanting his senior's name over and over again while continuing to punch the wall in front of him. His best friend tried to stop him from hurting himself, but Daisuke paid him no mind.

"Daisuke stop it, you're only hurting yourself! How could you do any damage to this barrier if even the Digimons couldn't do anything?" said Ken, his arms pining his best friend away from the offending wall as the boy struggled.

"So I'm supposed to do nothing!?" The two kept going at each other while the others could do nothing but stare.

Hikari was feeling so terrified and scared at the moment, but she was also touched at Daisuke's concern for her brother. He doesn't consider her brother as just an idol anymore, but a family. And by looking at his sincerity and bravery, something inside Hikari snapped.

Suddenly, the Child of Light was covered in white light.

"Hikari-chan?" Sora eyed her best friend's sister with hesitation. All of the humans and their partners stopped what they were doing to mirror the red hair.

"Huh? Hikari-chan, are you alright?" asked Daisuke who had gone limp in Ken's arms because of the confusion caused by his crush. He, along with the others could see that her terrified expression had changed to a determined one.

"I'm sick of this… I'm sick of this fog, I'm sick of this barrier, sick of BlackWarGreymon and this darkness! But most of all… I'm sick of being away from my brother while not knowing what is happening to him!"

Suddenly, the white light covering her turns to a color of pink before it shot towards Tailmon. The cat Digimon can feel her human partner's rage towards the darkness and the power she was giving her!

" **Tailmon digivolve to… Angewomon!"**

The cat form was quickly replaced by a beautiful human form with long blond hair, armors and wings. Yamato, Sora, Daisuke, Ken and Jyou, along with their Digimon partners stared at the angel with awe. Again, one of them managed to make their partner Digivolve into a higher level without a crest.

Hikari wasted no time. "Angewomon, please!" The angel Digimon stared at her partner's eyes. She would not disappoint her. As soon as Angewomon gave her a nod, she turned towards the dark barrier, ready for her attack.

"Holy Arrow!"

And the dark barrier was no more.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

The group only had a second to rejoice for their victory against the darkness. They rushed inside, not caring about anything that might come their way as they headed towards their friend who was probably in danger.

And in danger he was.

"Wha… is that…?" Ken stuttered, his words was stuck in his throat as he remembers how vile and dangerous the Digimon the group was now facing.

"No…" Sora's hands instinctively moved to cover her mouth. This couldn't be happening. No, her best friend's partner's worst nightmare _could not_ be happening!

…but it was.

"THAT'S SKULLGREYMON!" Daisuke shouted, but like the others, his body was frozen in fear.

True to his words, in front of them was SkullGreymon. It's whole body was nothing but bones and it was giving out a dark, dangerous and threatening aura. Ultimately, this is not the Digimon that the Chosen Children, especially the Original wanted to face again.

While the others was focusing on (or rather frozen because of) SkullGreymon, Yamato noticed that it's gaze was focused not on them but something else. It was then that Yamato's eyes widen in horror.

There was a figure lying unconscious next to the vile Digimon's foot, and _it was his best friend._

He didn't know anything that was going on SkullGreymon's mind, but when the Digimon lift his foot, Yamato rushed into action.

"GARURUMON!" He shouted in panic, but thankfully his partner understood what he had to do.

Yamato quickly jumped onto his partner's back. He almost lost his grip on Garurumon's fur, but he managed to stay where he was while his partner focused on running towards Taichi. As soon as they were near, Yamato grabbed his best friend's shirt to haul him away from danger. They weren't so lucky though, as SkullGreymon's foot landed on the intended spot and the force resulted in Garurumon, Yamato and Taichi flying away and landing hard on the ground.

Before they landed, Yamato had instinctively moved to cover his best friend's body to protect him from landing hard so he himself could take most of the damage. The pain on his back and right shoulder was hell, but he thought they were worth it.

"YAMATO!" Sora screamed in horror.

"YAMATO-SAN! ONII-CHAN!" To Yamato and Garurumon, it was like time had gone in slow motion when they went to save Taichi. But to the others, it was so quick that they all thought the three of them were actually trampled by the giant Digimon.

Hearing Yamato's yelling after that awful few seconds gave them the relief they needed.

"We're alright! Get away from here, it's not safe!" Yelled Yamato at the others. He really hoped Taichi's alright, because while he could feel the boy breathing, he was still hanging limp in his arms. And man, was his friend heavy! "Taichi! Taichi, pull yourself together, man! It's seriously not funny you being kidnapped and in danger all the time! And don't you get that I'm tired of seeing your sleeping face all the time? What are you, sleeping beauty!? Stop being a freaking damsel and wake up!"

Yamato rambled on while shaking his best friend to try and rouse him awake. He wanted to be gentler after seeing a burn mark around his best friend's neck, yet he couldn't because they weren't exactly in a save situation right now.

"TAICHI!" "Ag…" The blond stopped short when he heard the brunette mumbling something. "Agu… mon…" He whimpered.

Yamato's eyes went wide. He really doesn't like seeing his best friend so vulnerable like this. "Taichi…"

"YAMATO, LOOK OUT!" At Garurumon's growl, Yamato turned his head to fine his partner leaping towards them to protect them. He could now see that SkullGreymon's giant hand was aiming towards them.

' _Shit, he's targeting Taichi!'_ The wolf Digimon's effort was futile as with a swish of the skull Digimon's hand, he was slapped out of the way. "Garurumon!" The blond shouted, concerned for his partner. But he wasn't able to move his eyes from the frightening thing in front of him. His whole body was aching from the impact when he protected Taichi, so the best thing Yamato could do at the moment was to sit in front of his best friend as a way of shielding him.

"Over my dead body, damn you!" growled Yamato at SkullGreymon. He was afraid for his life, but he refused to let fear move him away.

"Get away from him, you monster!" Angewomon moved to attack, "Holy Arr- Ah!" only to be hit in the same way as Garurumon.

"Angewomon!" Hikari shout with worry, she tried to run towards her partner, only to be held back by Daisuke. "Hikari-chan, no! It's too dangerous!"

"But, Daisuke-"

"If we go there, we'll only get in their way!" said Jyou rationally. "Let our partners handle this." He waited until Hikari gave him a nod before focusing back on the scene in front of them. Truthfully he wanted nothing more than to personally get Yamato and Taichi out of there, but as the oldest, he had to protect the girls and Daisuke and Ken.

"Meteor Wing!"

"Knuckle Fire!"

"Spiking Strike!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

One by one the Digimons' attacks hit SkullGreymon on mark, but as the attacks came from Champion Levels, none of them was working. Furthermore, they only seemed to tick the Digimon off.

Turning around to face it's enemies, SkullGreymon decided on a counter attack.

Jyou being the most observational of the group, didn't waste anytime getting everyone moving to retreat.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!"

" **Ground Zero"**

Organic missiles were launched from SkullGreymon's spinal cord, they were moving at a fast pace towards their running targets and would surely hit if it weren't for-

"Gaia Force!"

Suddenly a fireball energy shot came destroying the missiles. The collision created a powerful shockwave, making the Chosen Children almost fly away. They would have been flung away if it weren't for their Digimons taking the majority of the damage to protect them.

But the children along with their partners didn't waste any time to gather themselves. There were a few scratches and bruises, but they waved them off. Even if they were miraculously saved from that attack, they still couldn't relax yet, because what had saved them was…

"BlackWarGreymon!?" questioned the Digimons.

"Wait a minute... he saved us?" Sora asked in disbelief.

"I kinda forgot about him there…" Daisuke frowned while pulling Ken and Hikari, who were closest to him, to stand up.

"Daisuke…" The two facepalmed with their free hands.

" _What?_ Don't facepalm me, you hypocrites! I'm sure y'all were focusing on SkullGreymon back then rather than BlackWarGreymon too!"

The dark Digimon who previously stood on the sideline was now standing in front of Yamato and Taichi as if… protecting them?

He could be. He had saved the Chosen and their partners just a few seconds ago, but who's to say that Taichi hadn't fainted because of him? Although it was unlikely because what could BlackWarGreymon use to choke the boy like that? Still, all of them had been attack by the black Digimon at least once.

As he contemplated that, Yamato move to stand up but didn't move away from the Child of Courage.

"What are you playing at?" The blond wasn't exactly expecting any answer from BlackWarGreymon, as he seemed to only care about Taichi. Plus, he heard from his friends that the black Digimon had offend Hikari by saying, _'I don't need to answer you'._

But BlackWarGreymon answered him anyway. It was a very surprising answer too.

"If any of you get hurt, it will sadden him."

The armored Digimon's gaze was entirely focused on SkullGreymon, but when he mentioned the word 'him', Hikari saw a glint in his eyes.

"Do you mean my brother?" Yamato didn't expect the black Digimon to answer Taichi's sister with a nod, but then again, he _did_ answer his question before. Somehow, though, BlackWarGreymon's answers were pissing him off.

"Heh! That didn't stop you from hurting us before!"

It took a few moments before he answered again. "That was before I care about my master."

"Master?" Everyone chorused.

BlackWarGreymon went quiet again before slowly turning his head to fix his gaze on the unconscious brunette laying on the ground behind the blond.

All of their thoughts clicked at the same time.

"Taichi-kun's your _master_!?" Jyou incredulously shouted.

"Since when!?" demanded Daisuke.

But the boy's question went unanswered as a loud growl interrupted them. The growl was so loud and full of anger, it frightened them all. It seems SkullGreymon didn't like being ignored.

"Urgh…" Daisuke gritted his teeth, trying to shake off his fear.

"You forgot about him too, Daisuke?" asked Ken with a surprisingly calm voice as he stared at SkullGreymon. His face was blank, but the sweat on him was giving his uneasiness away.

"Is this really the time to be joking, Ken-chan?" Stingmon asked, his gaze not daring to leave the huge Digimon in front of him for even a second.

"Let him be, Stingmon. Daisuke did a really good job of teaching him how to joke after all." Flamedramon stated, his claws and fire ready for counterattacks.

"My Ken-chan _can too_ joke long before Daisuke even became friends with him!"

"Yeah, with dark humor."

" _Really, guys?!_ Now's not the time!" Sora reminded.

SkullGreymon growled loudly again before turning towards the blond, BlackWarGreymon and Taichi. It's anger was shown by it's hands aggressively striking the trio. Not wanting to be victims of it's wrath, BlackWarGreymon quickly grabs Taichi and Yamato and began dodging every attack with his speed.

"Gah! Takeru will kill me if I let anything happen to Yamato-san!" Daisuke said in panic while clutching his hair in his hands. "BlackWarGreymon, you better protect them good!"

"Is BlackWarGreymon really protecting them, though?" Ken voiced everyone's confusion. But despite his words, the black Digimon really seemed to be keeping both of them save even if he wasn't doing much fighting back.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

SkullGreymon was attacking while BlackWarGreymon was defending for the longest time. Luckily, the armor Digimon found a rift so he quickly duck and give SkullGreymon a hard kick. Being a giant has it's downside as the skull Digimon lost it's balance and landed his back on the hard ground.

The children and the other Digimons let out a whoop at BlackWarGreymon's somewhat success, and that made him wonder. Why are they cheering for him? They were still enemies and he would surely kill them if they were to take away his master again.

Well, maybe not kill. Or hurt. Because his master will be sad.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't get angry as before.

' _Humans are weird.'_ He thought as he flew towards the boy with the glasses. The Digimons around him took a stance for caution. Ha. Like they could do anything to him.

The boy tensed but held his gaze on him. He was scared for sure, but BlackWarGreymon could see that something was making him strong.

He then moved to free his master and the blond boy from his arms. The youngest human girl quickly went to his master's side and hug him protectively. The motion irritates him, but he haven't much time at the moment.

"You seem to be the most knowledgeable." He presumed. "Fix him." He nodded at his master.

The glasses boy frowned. "I will if you stop kidnapping him."

BlackWarGreymon mirrored his action. "You're the ones who have been taking him from me." He let out a growl. The boy flinched, but he still hasn't look away from him. The others wisely chose to stay quiet.

"You said Taichi-kun's your master? Do you know I'm the one who's been treating his wounds all this time? Wounds caused by _you_!" BlackWarGreymon unconsciously flinched.

' _ **How could you be his underling or whatever if you couldn't even protect him!? If you couldn't even fight for him!'**_

"Taichi-kun is our friend, _long_ before he even became your 'master'! Did he even accept you as his partner or helper or whatever?"

' _ **My life wouldn't even be in danger if you hadn't kidnapped me in the first place, you big, stupid oaf!'**_

' _ **DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!'**_

"...No."

Everyone didn't dare to talk. Except for Jyou.

"Then stop hurting him." He reasoned, but BlackWarGreymon didn't seem to hear him anymore.

"...If he's not my master, then what is he to me? What am I… to him?"

Everything after that was a blur to BlackWarGreymon.

He could see the brave face of the glasses boy turning into a face of terror. It was the same with the other humans and Digimons facing him. It wasn't another second before he felt intense pain coming from his right side.

Something smashed him away from the ground.

It was SkullGreymon.

Ah.

He was attacked from behind.

And it gets worse as the attacks coming at him didn't stop. The skull Digimon was assaulting him continuously, giving him no chance of fighting back.

Each strike pained him, but he wasn't capable of letting out any sound.

His only confusion is why were the Digimons now attacking SkullGreymon too? Was it because he was being attacked? Or was it because they didn't want to be the giant Digimon's next target?

Whatever the reason might be, he knows it's futile.

They know it's futile.

See? Each of them were getting beat up one by one.

Maybe they weren't giving their all because they knew SkullGreymon was actually that tiny Digimon whom he dislike very much? Because they were 'friends', so they couldn't destroy the very thing who was trying to destroy their human friend? How ridiculous.

...

...

Hmm. That didn't take long.

They were all beaten up by the dangerous thing. None of them can even stand anymore.

And himself, well, by now he could see dark spots interfering with his vision. Either he will be unconscious in a matter of seconds, or he was going to die at the hands of the puny-turned-giant-crazy Digimon.

He didn't know, but…

It was the end.

The only thing that he was grateful about was the fact that the skull Digimon was now walking towards him and not the boy.

Maybe he angered it enough so it lost interest in the boy?

Good.

At least at the very end he could protect his light.

See that, small Digimon? Glasses boy? He _can_ protect his light!

He can protect his mas-

"TAICHI, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?"

...

...

...

...Huh?

The dark spots were slowly fading away. His blurry vision was turning clear as the first thing he sees was a figure standing in front of his battered body.

Like himself, he was also battered up. And even if he looks tougher than all the humans, against the giant and terrifying Digimon, he was small.

Yet from the looks of the small figure's back, he knew he wasn't going to run anywhere.

The most distinctive thing of him was his wild, chocolate hair.

It was his master.

* * *

.

..

... **tbc.**

**.**


	10. Faith

If there are words to describe her childhood friend, it would be reckless, courageous, and _incredibly stupid_.

"TAICHI! GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!" Sora shouted in panic and frustration. Her mother hen mode would automatically turn on whenever she saw her friends in danger, especially if it concerns Biyomon, Taichi and Yamato. Not to mention she was also very angry at the wild hair for putting himself in a seriously dangerous position right now. Taichi ignoring her and her friends' distress at the moment only made her more anxious.

In her panic yet frozen state in cause of fear, she noticed how Yamato was trying to get to his best friend but was held back by Jyou. Also, Daisuke, who had been let go by Ken previously was now back in the position of being restrained by the bluenette. Lastly, from the corner of her eye, she could see Hikari in the same state as her, frozen.

Sora could see how small her best friend is compared to the giant Digimon in front of him. However, despite the massive difference in size, she could also see how big he is. How he looks so calm and confident. So brave.

Years ago like the others and her, the younger Taichi had been so afraid by SkullGreymon when he made Agumon first Digivolve into the Skeleton Digimon. So why wasn't he showing any fear towards him right now? More so, how could he stare right at the blank, cold eyes of SkullGreymon without any hesitation?

"Taichi please…" Sora let out a sob. But she knew that nobody's voice, even hers, would convince him of moving away.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

The first thing Taichi felt when he woke up was his aching head and that he felt sore all over. _'God… did I fall from the stairs or something?'_ he thought as he tries to focus his sight.

The moment his blurry vision was gone and he could see once more, his heart stopped.

The view made his blood run cold as he realized two familiar Digimons were fighting in front of him.

No, rather, one of them was being beaten up by the other.

The one being beaten up was the Digimon he thought he hated, the Digimon whose eyes were so cold and full of hollow and emptiness but after sometime had changed into golden eyes with a glint that almost, _almost_ looked as if they were filled with warmth. It had strangely made him feel at ease when he had thought he was going to die. The Digimon had proven him wrong about him.

The other Digimon was often the main object of his nightmares, even though he knew it shouldn't haunt him anymore. Maybe some part in him knew something like this was going to happen again yet his denials made it seem forgettable. The Digimon's presence made him sick to his stomach. He was afraid, yet the fear was not of the Digimon but instead, _for_ him.

As he lay tired on the ground, he couldn't help but react when he saw the black Digimon being approached by the giant Digimon, as if he knew that the bigger figure would definitely kill him with the next strike if he didn't do anything.

So he stands up. Ignoring his aching feet, he runs towards the two Digimons. As he runs he felt the world around him going slow, there was ringing in his ears while voices calling out his name. But he ignored them too.

He didn't stop until he reached the black Digimon, only stopping to turn around with his arms lift up as a sign to protect him from the giant in front of him. He swayed on the spot before managing to stand up right.

He looked up to meet SkullGreymon's eyes.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

Yamato knew he was going to be doomed by a stupid best friend, but he didn't think his best friend would be _this_ stupid.

When SkullGreymon let out his surprise attack at the seemingly off BlackWarGreymon, he had ignored all the pain shooting all over his body and wasted no time carrying Taichi away from the chaos of it all.

The Digimons instinctively began to strike the skull Digimon again so he and his human friends could get to safety. However, he had took his eyes off his best friend for _one. One_ _second._ And suddenly the bastard took off _towards_ the danger.

As Taichi rushes towards the now fallen BlackWarGreymon, images went through his brain.

Images of Taichi captured by Shellmon.

Of him fading away to nothing with MetalGreymon as soon as Etemon was defeated.

Of him in his arms after being injured by Piedmon.

Of him in BlackWarGreymon's hold as he was taken away from all of them.

And of him almost struck by SkullGreymon's giant foot.

"Taichi you bastard, you're always doing this! After all of this is over, I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS YOU GOT THAT!" And his body shined in the color of blue.

" **GABUMON WARP-DIGIVOLVE TO… METALGARURUMON!"**

Gabumon who was turned back into his rookie form because of fatigue was quickly replaced by his mega form. With his power recharged by his human partner, he wasted no time in attacking.

"Freeze Bomber!" The freezing missiles were set to strike on mark, if it wasn't for a strong force suddenly appearing between the weapons and the intended target.

"Fuscous Barrier"

"What!" remarked Jyou as he watches the missiles hit a dark barrier, similar to the one keeping them out of this forest before. Now as the smoke began to clear out, he and the rest of the team could see that another barrier was placed between them and Taichi, BlackWarGreymon and SkullGreymon.

" _Another_ barrier!?" Daisuke yelled out, frustrated.

"Angewomon!" Hikari turned to her partner again, hoping she would get the same result as last time. The angel gave her a nod before positioning herself into a certain stance. She was interrupted, however, when they all heard a dark chuckle.

"Kukukukuku, it is futile, Chosen Children." They all turned around to find a Digimon with a black cloak covering his body. He was holding a gigantic sickle and chain. They couldn't see his face as it was also covered by his cloak, but they could see his red eyes. His presence was mostly weird and disturbing.

"And who the hell are you!" Yamato demanded.

"He looks like Phantomon." commented Sora. The others soon nodded after recognizing the similar form.

"Kukuku, I am GrimPhantomon! And there is no way you could destroy my barrier once more, Angewomon, because I've made it stronger than before! Adding to your exhaustion, I'm sure you can't do anything with your power of light anymore." The Digimon continues to laugh. The mere sight of him in this frustrating situation only made the other Digimons even more pissed off, so they did the only thing they could do right now: attack the dark Digimon.

"Meteor Wing!"

"Freeze Bomber!"

"Spiking Strike!"

"Holy Arrow!"

"Fire Rocket!"

GrimPhantomon, with his ability to fly, succeeds in dodging the attacks one by one. The last attack seems to have hit him, but they humans and their Digimon partners soon find out that the Phantom had protected himself from the strike by casting another barrier around his body.

"You coward!" hissed Angewomon. The mentioned Digimon only smirked in return.

"Why are you doing this? What do you gain from hurting Taichi!" asked Sora.

GrimPhantomon smiled cruelly. "This is an order from my master." The humans and their partners quietness demanded more from him, so the Phantom decided to humor them. "Kukuku, there's no need to explain further, but I do pride myself in making that silly little Digimon to Digivolve into that monster. It wasn't hard after giving him a dark illusion of what the small thing was most afraid of" Sora's eyes widen in horror.

"You… you gave Agumon that nightmare."

"'That nightmare'?" Ken raised an eyebrow. The others gave out the same motion.

"You made him change into SkullGreymon!" The red hair accused, making GrimPhantomon's smile widen.

It was the only prove they all needed about this situation.

"As soon as I see him in his weakest state, I struck him with my Diabolic Crescent Star. You see... anyone who was sliced with that attack will turn into something that they are most afraid of. Plus, the victim will do anything I want!" GrimPhantomon finished his explanation with another laugh, making the children gaze at him with hate and more determination than ever to defeat him.

"Bastard! You're going to regret doing that!" Yamato angrily shouts while the others nodded.

"Yeah man, you're going down!" yelled Daisuke.

When MetalGarurumon along with the other Digimons move towards him, GrimPhantomon only smirked. "Are you people sure you should be focusing on me right now? Your friend right there is doomed, you know? My master wants the Child of Courage dead, and I have ordered SkullGreymon to kill him!"

GrimPhantomon cackled loudly as the Chosen Children and their Digimon partners turned around to see SkullGreymon making his way to the injured pair.

Moving away from the Phantom Digimon, the Digimons ignore their exhaustion to continuously destroy the strong barrier. The humans were also making effort to save their friend and leader in their own way.

"Taichi, for the hundredth time, _get out of there!_ Do you seriously want me to beg!?"

"Taichi-senpai, you're totally being cool right now protecting BlackWarGreymon and all even though he's your enemy, but now's the time TO RUN!"

"Taichi-san, hurry!"

"Taichi-kun! Please run away!"

"Taichi, _please!_ "

"Onii-chan!"

While the humans and Digimons were fighting their way in, GrimPhantomon only sees the scene in front of him as a source of entertainment. He kept laughing at his enemies' useless attempt to save their friend.

He was going to complete the mission given to him by his master, and he will complete it easily it seems.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

"Boy… get away…" BlackWarGreymon said to the human in front of him.

Without turning around, Taichi said, "Stay down, BlackWarGreymon. I got this."

BlackWarGreymon didn't know why, but when his master spoke his name, he felt happier than ever. Even though he should be feeling anxious right now because he and his master were in danger and he couldn't move. He had received too much damage from SkullGreymon. However, it didn't stop him from trying to keep the chocolate hair safe.

"You have _nothing_. If you don't move away right now, you will be killed." Taichi smirked. His face showed that he was confident, but he could also feel sweat running down on it.

The sight in front of him was terrifying, thought Taichi. In fact it was the most terrifying thing he had ever come across. But the fear of him being hurt was nothing compared to the fear of not knowing how his partner, his best friend, was doing inside the skull Digimon right now.

' _Agumon…'_

"What happened to you?" whispered Taichi. He could feel his eyes became glassy with emotion as he gazed into the giant Digimon's own pair. His eyes were blank, cold and hollow, more ever than BlackWarGreymon's when he first met him a couple days ago. It made his whole body shiver.

Yet, he couldn't tear his gaze away from them. From the moment Taichi opened his eyes, ran towards BlackWarGreymon to protect him in any way his battered up body could; since the moment his own pair of eyes landed on SkullGreymon's black eyes, the boy had been searching. Searching for that glint, for that familiarity.

For Agumon.

.

.

.

And when he had finally found it, Taichi smiled.

"Master…" Taichi noticed that BlackWarGreymon's tone was now pleading.

Huh.

Who would have thought.

"I'm not your master. I'm not anyone's master. Never have, never will." He said while glancing back at the fallen Digimon behind him. Everyone, including GrimPhantomon who was confused at the boy's manner, were currently silent. SkullGreymon was also standing still now, probably because GrimPhantomon wasn't giving him any instructions at the moment.

It was that voice that whenever Taichi uses it, it just made everyone quiet so they can hear him.

"What I am, is a friend. A _partner"_ He moved his eyes again to gaze back at SkulGreymon's pair of eyes. "…to you."

At being mentioned, SkullGreymon unconsciously tilted his head. As if he was wonderstruck.

It was a few moments before GrimPhantomon began to laugh again. This time though, the laugh seemed forced. "Kuku! Kukuku! How foolish! That monster now belongs to me, Child of Courage! He doesn't have any memories of you anymore!"

Taichi frowned. "That's where you're wrong, GrimPhantomon. The Digimon in front of me isn't a monster, and inside, he's still Agumon!"

"You don't know when to quit, do you child? With my command, he could kill you anytime!" the Phantom shouted.

"Agumon would never hurt me, let alone kill me." Taichi said with calmly, eyes never leaving SkullGreymon's. He could see the Digimon in front of him twitching ever so lightly.

Uncharacteristically, GrimPhantomon became angry as he cried out, "Well then I shall prove you wrong! SkullGreymon! No more playing, prove the Child of Courage wrong and _kill him right now!_ "

As soon as the command was delivered, SkullGreymon raised his hand back,

"Taichi, MOVE!"

"Agumon, no!"

"SENPAI!" only to strike it towards his intended mark,

"AGUMON, PLEASE! YOU PROMISED ME YOU'D BRING MY BROTHER BACK!"

towards the Child of Courage's chest "Agumon, don't hurt him!"

to penetrate his heart. "YOU SAID YOU LOVE HIM!"

' _I love Taichi… he's my partner, after all'_

* * *

.

..

... **tbc.**

**.**


	11. The End of GrimPhantomon

"Taichi, MOVE!"

He knew that name…

* * *

' _Taichi, you're awake! That's great, that's great!'_

' _It's talking! And it knows my name!?'_

' _This is great! Taichi, this is so great!'_

' _Who, who are you!?'_

' _I'm Koromon! I've been waiting for you, Taichi!'_

' _Koromon?'_

* * *

"Agumon, no!"

"SENPAI!"

"AGUMON, PLEASE! YOU PROMISED ME YOU'D BRING MY BROTHER BACK!"

* * *

' _I'll bring him back. I promise!'_

* * *

"Agumon, don't hurt him!"

* * *

' _You saved me again didn't you, Agumon? Thanks'_

'' _Course! And no need to say thanks, you're my partner after all.'_

* * *

"YOU SAID YOU LOVE HIM!"

* * *

' _I love Taichi… he's my partner, after all'_

* * *

And suddenly… his world went black.

* * *

SkullGreymon's attack was so fast and fierce that the ground it landed on shattered into pieces.

Horror struck into the Chosen Children and their Digimons' minds, making them frozen to their spot. For awhile there was only GrimPhantomon's laughter and the sound of crumbling soil to fill the silence.

Each and every one of them could not believe what had happened.

Yagami Taichi. A brother, a friend, a senior, a leader…

Was killed by his own partner. His Digimon partner, Agumon, who was supposed to protect him and be by his side forever.

"I… I can't believe it" stuttered Yamato as he stared at the scene in front of him with wide, unblinking eyes. His body was shaking.

"That didn't really happen… did it?" Daisuke laughed incredulously. He didn't tear his gaze away from the scene. Nobody did. Nobody answered him either, not having the strength to talk. Even Sora and Hikari had fallen to their knees.

The smoke created by the impact was clearing out. With the way the Skull Digimon had attacked and the target was standing right there, refusing to move, each of them was expecting to see blood everywhere.

But the moment their eyes could see beyond the smoke, all of them including GrimPhantomon, was shocked.

"Taichi!" Sora sobbed in relief. The others also let out their breath of relief the moment they saw their leader was still alive. And he was underneath BlackWarGreymon.

"Holy crap! BlackWarGreymon saved Taichi-senpai!" Daisuke cheered while pointing towards the two figures currently lying on the ground, away from the crushed area.

"Daisuke, that's not the only thing that should surprise you." Ken murmured.

"Huh?" Confused by his best friend's statement, the goggle head focused his eyes back towards the scene again.

"I can't believe I have a stupid boy for a master." BlackWarGreymon grumbled before growling at his master. "Do you seriously have a death wish?"

Taichi, who was still under BlackWarGreymon, let out a groan. "Shut up. Is that a way to talk to your so-called master?" At the remark, his savior twitched.

"I thought you _weren't_ my master."

"I'm not. I was just making a point." Another growl. "And that leads me to another point. Thanks for saving me for the hundredth time and all, but this time you really didn't have to."

At BlackWarGreymon's confused stare, Taichi nodded towards the ground he had been standing on.

BlackWarGreymon, the Chosen Children and their Digimons all reach the same conclusion: The ground Taichi had been standing on before was untouched, however, it was the ground a few feet away that was crushed.

"D- did SkullGreymon _missed_!?" Daisuke asked, absurd.

"Is it possible at the last moment he caught onto his senses and stopped himself from hurting Taichi-san?" asked Ken with a relieved smile.

If GrimPhantomon's mouth wasn't covered by his cloak, his jaw would fall all the way to the floor.

"Why? All the times we've faced him, he never stops attacking anything!" stated Hikari in wonder. While she was very glad her brother was unharmed, she didn't want to acknowledge the possibility that she could be going crazy; that she could have given herself the illusion that her brother was alright when the truth could be he was not.

"Why! Why, SkullGreymon!? How could you defy me!" GrimPhantomon snapped. But SkullGreymon stayed silent. He also wasn't moving, staying in his position with his hand in the destroyed ground and with his head bowed.

GrimPhantomon was puzzled. Did he not use his spell right? Did he not struck Agumon with his dark power strong enough? _'Which is it!?'_

"You seem confused, GrimPhantomon." The Phantom flinched and he snapped his head around to see the Child of Courage back on his feet again with BlackWarGreymon by his side. Both of them have injuries all over their bodies, yet they stood tall with confidence. Their eyes were shining in anger.

"I told you Agumon would never hurt me." GrimPhantomon wanted nothing more than to prove that unwavering statement wrong, but he couldn't.

SkullGreymon was known to be one of the strongest ultimate level Digimon, he shouldn't be able to differentiate between friends and foe and only stops attacking at anything when he runs out of energy. The fight between him and the children's Digimons lasted awhile, but it was clearly one sided. So why did he even missed landing his blow on the Child of Courage!?

From his unusual quietness, the boy knew GrimPhantomon was analyzing the situation. He won't give him the chance to carry out his plan even further though.

"You know what, GrimPhantomon?" The Digimon in question snapped his head when he heard his name being called out. Taichi continued without waiting for his reply. "Trying to kill me wasn't your worst mistake. No…" The boy clenched his fist and glared at the Phantom in anger; his cold and hateful eyes making him start to float away in fear.

"Hurting my friends. Hurting _Agumon_. That's your worst mistake!" Before he knew it, GrimPhantomon moved instinctively towards his right, narrowly dodging a Great Tornado coming from BlackWarGreymon.

"Curses!" He said frantically while escaping the multiple tornadoes launched at him. "How can you even move after those beatings you received from my pet!?"

"Fuck you! Agumon's not your pet!" Yamato yelled in fury.

BlackWarGreymon who was not decreasing his speed in the slightest, growled, "My master is filled with so much wrath, it's uncanny. He is giving me power to defeat you! Great Tornado!"

It didn't help GrimPhantomon that other attacks were joining the armor Digimon's.

"Holly Arrow!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Freeze Bomber!"

"Yeah! You go, guys!" cheered Daisuke.

"Keep it up, guys! Don't give him the opportunity to use his barrier to protect himself again!" At Ken's warning, the Digimons' assaults increased.

"Fire Rocket!"

"Spiking Strike!"

At the very least, things were not looking good for the Phantom Digimon.

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

The moment BlackWarGreymon took off to silence GrimPhantomon, Taichi felt his power drained, he could not stand anymore so he fell to his knees. Thankfully, his hands automatically went to hold himself from falling face first to the ground, but it didn't help his blurry vision and his current wheezing.

At least BlackWarGreymon looked healthy. Well, as healthy as he can be, what with having himself being almost beaten to death by SkullGreymon and all. No doubt the dark Digimon took his energy again.

"Seriously?" Taichi panted while looking at the fight currently happening not too far from where he was hunched. "that jerk should've known I'm running out of energy by now, couldn't he left me with some more?" He chuckled- the fact that he could even let out a chuckle was beyond him.

While he was being hysterical at the situation, the wild haired boy didn't notice a group of people running towards him, and suddenly his vision was covered by the color red.

"Oh my God, Taichi, I'm so glad you're okay!" Oh… it was Sora.

"I'm barely hanging on by a thread here, actually." He smirked -not unkindly- and allowed himself to relax in his childhood friend's embrace. He tried to savor in the moment for as long as he can because he knew it wouldn't be long before his other best friend would come up to him.

"Man, you scared the crap out of all of us, I oughta-" "Yamato! No punching!" At Sora's remark, Yamato stopped short. Her head was turned towards him while her arms still around Taichi's shoulder, effectively holding the messy haired boy upright.

"You- I-" The blond was baffled at his ex-girlfriend's accusation. Did she really think he would punch Taichi at his state? "I wouldn't punch an injured man, Sora!"

"If it's your best friend, then _yes_ , you would!"

"There's something wrong with that logic..." Jyou sweatdropped. "but you can't deny there were times you did exactly that, Yamato." He reasoned before moving to check on his kohai's injuries.

Hikari came next to Taichi to support him. "Don't be so hard on him, Sora-san, Jyou-san. Yamato-san is just angry at my Onii-chan's recklessness and idiocy" she hissed at her brother to make a point before murmuring the last part, "as should the rest of us." She knew she shouldn't be too hard on her brother, but after seeing him almost die more times than she could count in the span of only a few days, Hikari was frustrated and angry. More at herself because unlike her, her brother had come for her and saved her multiple times when she was in danger, and these last events proved that she couldn't do the same.

Despite his exhaustion, Taichi could sense his sister's weariness and insecurity. It was the same with his friends. However, he couldn't deal with them right now, as he has more pressing matters to attend to. So, he gently pried off Jyou's hands and spoke, "Sora. Yamato. Help me."

The quartet immediately stopped what they were doing. Taichi's voice was faint, but it was definitely his leader tone.

"Help me get to Agumon."

Silence.

Soon it was broken by a stutter that came from none other than Jyou. "W, what- right now?" With the way he stutter, the glasses boy seemed to revert back to his version of their first adventure days.

"You're kidding right?" Yamato started to challenge him, but as Taichi's unwavering gaze meets his, the blond knew he had no chance.

After another few moments of silence -though it wasn't really, with all the fighting noises in the background- Yamato let out a long sigh.

He moved to Taichi's side to put his arm around his shoulders, from the corner of his eyes he could see Sora also doing the same thing. "I'm not kidding when I say I'm gonna kick your ass after all this is over you know…" He said as he gritted his teeth. Sora, who was also supporting the Child of Courage, stayed silent along with Hikari and Jyou.

"I promise you... can do that... when all of this is over. But I'm... I'm not sorry for trying to... protect all of you..." Taichi breathed out while struggling to walk, even when he was supported by his friends.

Sora shook her head. "You shouldn't be. But you should be sorry for not counting on your friends more, Taichi…" Taichi turned his head to stare into her eyes. They were filled with sadness and hurt.

"I know... I'm sorry..." They stopped walking, arriving in front of the giant that still frightens them. "I'm sorry about you too." As before, Taichi moved his gaze towards SkullGreymon's blank eyes, staring them down to show that he wasn't afraid of him. It wasn't the same with Yamato, Sora, Jyou and Hikari though. They were still scared shitless at the sight in front of them. SkullGreymon was not moving, and his head was bowed, but the sight of his enormous form and frightening aura was enough to cause them to tremble.

Still, they would not let Taichi face him alone. Not anymore.

So they stood their ground.

Taichi was about to talk again, but he was cut off by a shriek.

"SKULLGREYMON YOU PEST! HOW DARE YOU STAND THERE WHILE I'M FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE!" GrimPhantomon angrily shouted while still dodging the Digimons' attacks. There were cuts all around his cloak, but his speed was still giving him the upper hand. Thankfully for the Chosen Children, the Digimons were still managing on keeping GrimPhantomon from using his barrier again.

"Shaddup man! Your business is with us!" Daisuke yelled, his anger and passion filled FlameDramon with more power.

"Flaming Fist!" His attack landed, but narrowly as GrimPhantomon only swayed before floating higher to avoid other similar attacks coming his way.

"I PUSHED YOU TO DIGIVOLVE INTO WHO YOU ARE NOW! I CREATED YOU!" He yelled louder. He smirked when SkullGreymon's head slowly turned towards him.

"Meteor Wing!" "Gah!"

"Taichi-san! It seems GrimPhantomon is trying to gain control of SkullGreymon by verbal cause!" shouted Ken from afar after he realized what the dark Digimon was up to.

Yamato cursed when he realized Ken was right, "Shit! Taichi, Ken's right, he's-" The boy who was mentioned didn't even acknowledge him. Or anybody else for that matter.

"Taichi-" "Agumon!" The brown haired boy suddenly shouted.

"Agumon, look at me!"

"He's not Agumon, you fool! He's SkullGreymon!" sneered GrimPhantomon while still dodging the Digimons' countless attacks. Yet Taichi paid him no mind.

"Agumon, I know you're in there somewhere okay, so just come out! Don't shut me out!"

GrimPhantomon retorts. "No! Listen to me SkullGreymon! I'm your master-" He narrowly missed a strike, "And you belong to me!"

"You don't belong to anyone! Look, I'm sorry for what happened to you, alright? If anything, it's my fault. I know GrimPhantomon made you Digivolve against your will, but me not being there when you needed me is the same as letting you down, and I'm sorry! I'm sorry I let you Digivolve into SkullGreymon again, but believe me when I say I never, _ever_ wanted to let you go through that again!

"FOOLISH CHILD!"

"SHUT UP!"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH! SKULLGREYMON, KILL HIM! KILL EVERYONE HERE!"

"And I've had about enough of _you._ Dramon Killer!" That came from BlackWarGreymon. " _DRATS!_ "

Taichi panted hard, he felt like he could pass out at any time now; with all his injuries and BlackWarGreymon still consuming his energy from him. But he refused to. Not when Agumon… not when his partner needed him!

"Agumon…" They went back to stare at each other's eyes. "Agumon, you'll be okay." SkullGreymon tilted his head, and despite the motion didn't do anything to help lessen his fearsome form, Taichi smiled. "It's alright. Everything's gonna be okay, I promise."

The boy could feel his eyes watering. "So… so that's why…" His voice trembled.

"come back." He pleaded.

"Come back to me, partner…" Tears were now falling down his face, his smile was now gone as he pleads for home. As if he was a child again, wanting nothing more than to have his best friend by his side again.

"Please, come back to me… Agumon!"

Suddenly, a white, blinding light drapes over the Chosen Children, their Digimons and even GrimPhantomon.

Soon, as the light began to disappear, they all could see a Koromon now in place of SkullGreymon, indicating that the Skull Digimon has finally reverted back into his In-Training form. As he fell slowly from the sky, Taichi paid no mind to his aching body and stepped away unceremoniously from his best friends' holds to catch his partner.

"Koromon…" he whispered after landing on his knees with Koromon in his arms. It wasn't long before the pink Digimon sensed a distress voice calling out his name, making him slowly began to open his eyes.

It was a familiar voice…

The voice of someone very dear to him.

"Tai…chi…" A pair of red, tired eyes meets with a pair of brown ones filled with tears of relief.

"Hey…" The boy murmured with gentle tone and a few occasional sniffs, which made Koromon smile. "I heard you Taichi, I heard you."

"Hum?"

"I'm back." Taichi smiled. It was as if a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders.

Koromon had heard him. He heard how Taichi had messed up, but he still came back to him.

With the relief and happiness that he still accepts him as his friend and his partner, Taichi held Koromon tightly in his arms, and let out a mumble only the small Digimon can hear: "Welcome back."

Right now, both of them were right where they belong: with each other.

* * *

When SkullGreymon reverted back to his In-Training form, GrimPhantomon knew his plan had failed.

He was so angry that he didn't think clearly anymore.

He was also afraid of the punishment he will receive if he failed his master, so he all but fly angrily towards the messy haired boy to finish his original mission.

To kill the Child of Courage.

"DIE! CHILD OF COURAGE!"

"Shit! Taichi, _watch out!_ "

"TAICHI! KOROMON! NO!"

But that turns out to be his fatal mistake. As he flies, he could feel the world around him slowing down when he heard a calm, cold name of an attack. He felt a burning and painful sensation before his world turned black.

**"Mega Destroyer"**

And GrimPhantomon was no more.

* * *

.

..

... **tbc.**

**.**


	12. BlackWarGreymon's Partner

The Chosen Children and their Digimon partners watch as BlackWarGreymon pulverized GrimPhantomon. All of them, including Hikari who believes in second chances for Digimons, supposes while this is cruel, it's not exactly wrong either.

But the thought of Phantom's excruciating death quickly went passed their minds when they saw their leader's knees buckled as he crumbles to the ground.

"Taichi!" "Onii-chan!" shouted the females of the group as they run towards their fallen leader along with the rest of them.

"Jyou, is he alright?" the de-Digivolved Gomamon asked from near his partner's knees who was crouched next to the unconscious Taichi and Koromon.

Jyou answered, "I think so… let me just check for sure. Sora-san, can you help me move Koromon from Taichi's hold please?" With a nod, Sora went to gently pick Koromon up.

"Hey, Koromon's passed out too.", noted Tailmon in wonder while the other de-Digivolved Digimons nodded, agreeing with her.

"He must be exhausted after being Digivolved against his will." murmured Hikari.

"Not to mention he Digivolved into SkullGreymon, one of the strongest Virus Digimon." Ken added.

"Umm, guys? I don't think I can move Koromon here. Taichi's got a pretty hard grip on him." claimed Sora with an eyebrow rose.

"And is it me, or Koromon's got a tight grip on Taichi too?" The group contemplated Biyomon's words while staring at Koromon's long ears which were put around Taichi's neck; not tight enough to choke him, but tight enough so he couldn't be separated from his partner.

"Maa, maa. It's okay, I can make do. And I think their subconscious and instincts put them in this position." the oldest of the group said with a chuckle.

" _Mou_ , even when they're both passed out they refuse to stop being stubborn." Hikari huffed, not quite sure to be angry or glad at the situation. Her frustration made Sora giggle.

"I think it's cute how even when unconscious they still try to protect one another."

"You'd do the same with me, right Sora?"

She kneeled down to smile at Biyomon, "Of course, Biyomon!" making her Digimon grin in happiness.

"Umm, Ken-chan? I know we're happy and all that Taichi-san and Koromon are now alright, but aren't we forgetting something _really_ important?" At Wormmon's statement, the Chosen Children and their Digimons tensed. Each of them cursed themselves before turning around to find Yamato and Daisuke who were currently facing BlackWarGreymon.

"Yamato-san! Daisuke-kun!" While the others were celebrating their victory over GrimPhantomon, it seems the Child of Friendship with his successor were still being careful of their original enemy.

BlackWarGreymon's form was covered with shadow, his expression unreadable because of the darkness of the forest. Although GrimPhantomon had been defeated, the fog covering the Digital World has not disappeared so they concluded that he was not the reason for the darkness surrounding them.

Yamato and Daisuke stood in front of BlackWarGreymon with their partners MetalGarurumon and Flamedramon in tow.

" _Whoa!_ Even after fighting SkullGreymon they both didn't de-Digivolve." Gomamon stated.

"I guess they're still fueled with power…" murmured Hikari.

"And it seems that power comes from Yamato and Daisuke's anger…" Tailmon concluded as she and the others stare at the duo who, even in the distance can be seen with wrath written on their faces.

BlackWarGreymon took a few steps forward and as his face became clearer, the group had to take a second look at him. They could see that a serious expression was masked on his face, but his eyes… his eyes which were so blank and cold, which were frightening and could send chills to their backs were now… normal. His golden eyes weren't full of malice. They were like the ones BlackWarGreymon, the one who used his last strength to seal the Highton View Terrace Gate a few years ago had had. And also, his posture doesn't seem as threatening as before.

Still, the Chosen Children knew not to take light of this enemy, so Yamato chose to broke the ice. "Don't come any closer." he scowled, his partner who was next to him growled threateningly. BlackWarGreymon frowned, but he stayed nonetheless.

Well, this is new.

"You may have helped us save Taichi, but don't think we forgot you were the reason all this mess started in the first place." At that, BlackWarGreymon smirked,

"Hmph." he said.

Well, they couldn't be sure if he was smirking or not because they couldn't see his mouth, but his tone was a definite clue.

Yamato twitched with anger. _'Did- did he just say_ 'hmph' _!?'_

"What's so funny!?" Daisuke roared. If the kid wasn't so impulsive, Yamato would've yelled the same thing.

"Nothing. It's just that my master had said the same thing." That took everyone off guard.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that whole 'mastery' thing!"

"It's 'master', Daisuke…"

" _Shush_ , Ken!" He hissed before turning back to the offending Digimon. "And you! What's that about master, huh!? Taichi-senpai already said he's not your master, so back off!"

"Wow Daisuke, I really admire you bravery." commented FlameDramon while carefully still being in his stance should BlackWarGreymon make a sudden attack.

"Thanks!"

Yamato shook his head in frustration before focusing his attention back at the Dragon Man Digimon. "Look, all we wanna know is your intentions with Taichi."

BlackWarGreymon went back to frowning. "My intentions with him has nothing with you."

"It has everything to do with us, you jackass! First of all, he's my awesome senpai!" started Daisuke before he was interrupted.

"Second of all, he's my brother!" Hikari said to support her friend's statement.

"And he's our best friend!" Yamato and Sora both claimed.

"He is important to all of us." Ken calmly said, but with determination nonetheless. The Digimons around him agreed with a choruses of _'yes!'_ and _'that's right!'_

"Hear that, BlackWarGreymon! No matter how many times you try to take Taichi-senpai, we're not gonna let you take him again, because he's our important friend!" at Daisuke's exclamation, BlackWarGreymon's eyes widened. A series of memories filled with a brown haired boy came rushing in his head, and in all of them, the boy was angry.

' _ **You hurt my friends… asshole…'**_

' _ **Don't… touch Hikari…'**_

' _ **Let go of him you bastard!'**_

' _ **Let him go… you're after me, right? Let Agumon and my friends go. If you do that, I promise to come with you quietly.'**_

' _ **If you don't leave my friends alone then I'll**_ **kill** _ **myself!'**_

As the last bit of memory crossed his mind, BlackWarGreymon found himself staring pass the Children and Digimon to gaze at whom he called master. The boy who had given him so much power, made him feel something other than nothing, yet all this time he was the target of the boy's wrath. How can one boy be so protective of other humans and can hate him so much when the boy was supposed to be _his_ source of power? _His answer_ to the purpose of him being created to this world.

Seeing BlackWarGreymon becoming quiet yet again, Daisuke was about to call him out again- only to be cut off by a voice calling out for their attention.

"Guys! Guys!" It was Koushiro who was running towards them with Miyako, Takeru, Mimi, Iori with their Digimon partners in tow.

"Koushirou! Everyone!"

"Boy, am I glad to see you guys-" Daisuke almost sighed in relieved, but he quickly tensed when he saw the expressions of the other group. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Hurry up! We all have to get out of here!" Miyako said, anxious for some reason.

The Taichi retrieval group and BlackWarGreymon stood in confusion for only a few seconds before they hear a rumbling sound coming from beneath them.

"Wh, what?"

"What is going on!"

"The ground, it's shaking!" Jyou yelled after he felt the ground around him shaking hard.

"Earthquake!" Daisuke and FlameDramon shouted.

Before they knew it, the ground beneath the Chosen Children and the Digimons tore open and one by one they started to fall down into the darkness. The flight Digimons only managed to pull their own partners away for a few seconds before they fell in as well because they were in their Rookie Forms and the humans were too heavy to hold up.

As the ground swallowed them all, a faded laugh can be heard from the dark mountains.

* * *

Taichi woke up in darkness.

His head was pounding hard, no surprise there he thought, and he felt sore all over. When he felt intense pain going through both of his arms, he realized that he was tied up with his hands above his head and his feet a few inches from the ground. This hurts _a lot._ While groaning in pain, the brunette tried to take in his surroundings. He could see his friends -whose amount had increased with Koushirou and the others, he noticed- inside a grey colored cube. The cube was giant but he had no doubt if the Digimons were to Digivolve, it would be quite cramped in there.

He forced himself to calm down because even if none of them were awake, he could see that they were all breathing. He began to panic though when he could see no sign of Koromon.

At the realization, Taichi began to struggle. _'I just got him back… where the hell is he!?'_ While trying to get out of his bindings, Taichi looked around again to search for his pink partner. But all he found was a familiar face smiling darkly at him.

"DarkCherrymon" he growled at the smiling tree. It was then that Taichi realized he was being levitated by a long vine coming from DarkCherrymon.

The Digimon chuckled as a response. "Kukukukuku, it is nice to see you again, Child of Courage. I do thank you for convincing BlackWarGreymon to spare my life."

"Load of good that did me…" grumbled the soccer player, for once he thought back on his decision of fighting BlackWarGreymon from killing the plant. If only he could curse himself or BlackWarGreymon for actually listening to him for once. "'guess you're still alive thanks to me, huh? I don't suppose you can let me and my friends free as thanks?" He asked to which the plant Digimon gave a chuckle again.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, boy. I'm not one to defy my master's orders you see."

" _Again_ with the master" Taichi closed his eyes and shook his head in frustration. "who the hell is he anyway! And could you cut the crap and tell me what the hell he wants from me!?" He angrily demands while starting to struggle again, but his body froze when he heard a cold, dark laugh clouding his surroundings. He couldn't see where the laugh was coming from but it was loud enough to make the Chosen and the Digimons wake up one by one.

"Damn, my head…" Yamato groaned as he slowly got up. "Is everybody okay?" His response were murmurs and groans of unconvincing _'yeah'_ and _'we're okay'_.

"Where are we?" Mimi asked with worry yet she calmed down when she saw Palmon next to her.

"Onii-chan!" at Hikari's sudden shout, they all turned to look at the tied up boy and a familiar Digimon. With haste, they all tried to ran to him but were blocked by a wall.

"What's this?" Daisuke groaned while hitting the offending wall and trying to make his way through it. "A barrier again? Dammit!"

"And this time we're trapped in it, not outside of it." Ken hissed, his eyes glaring towards the Digimon holding Taichi. "Who are you?"

"That looks like Cherrymon." Jyou said in remembrance.

"Who?" asked Iori and Armadillomon.

Koushirou opened his laptop. "Cherrymon is a Vegetation Digimon and he's some kind of master of some forest, but this one is called DarkCherrymon. There's not much of a difference aside that he's stronger than a normal Cherrymon." He turned to Yamato. "You've met Cherrymon before, right Yamato-san?"

Yamato nodded solemnly, "Yeah. He's an awful Digimon. _'He even gave me the boost to have that fight with Taichi all those years ago.'_ he thought in shame.

"Oi! What the heck are you doing with Taichi-senpai!? Let him go!"

"Now, now, there is no need to rush. It is time for the main event anyway." The plant Digimon snapped his fingers and suddenly, another cube appear. Inside were BlackWarGreymon and Koromon.

"Taichi!" Koromon shouted, worried and angry seeing his partner in such position. BlackWarGreymon stayed quiet but he has a murderous look on his face.

"Koromon! BlackWarGreymon!" Seeing the two Digimon safe, Taichi forgot his pain for a moment and smiled in relief.

"Master! I have retrieved the Child of Courage, along with his Digimon and BlackWarGreymon!" After DarkCherrymon's declaration, they all went quiet with anticipation of finally knowing this evil Digimon.

Soon, the same cold laugh was surrounding them again, and this time something appeared. Firstly, something like a small smoke began to appear, then little by little it began to change into a bigger form of dark mist, darker than the darkness they were in. When the mist stopped growing, a pair of eyes appeared on what's supposed to be it's face. The pair of eyes were similar to GrimPhantomon, they were red but much, much more evil looking.

No one had the courage to say anything out of fear.

 **"I see you have done well, my servant."** DarkCherrymon smirked but he kept his mouth shut to avoid interrupting his master. **"So _this_ is the Child of Courage?" ** The figure floated slowly towards Taichi, making the latter gulp. It didn't stop until it was right in front of him.

"Get away from me" Taichi hissed, only to receive a laugh of amusement from the dark creature. **"Truly, the Child of Courage. Most beings would be too afraid to speak in my presence."**

' _Taichi, don't say anything stupid now…'_ Prayed all the original Chosen Children in their minds.

The boy could feel sweat running through his back. He needs to get all his friends away from him, battered up as he is, he has to think of some way. _'Stalling again it is.'_ "Who are you anyway?" His voice challenging.

The figure had no mouth, but Taichi swears he can see it smiling. **"My name… is Caligomon."**

"'Caligo'?" Ken raised an eyebrow. "As in Latin for 'mist'?"

"Man, how do you know this stuff?" Daisuke asked, not really expecting an answer.

"You…" Everyone turned to Koushirou. "You're the one Gennai was talking about!" A chorus of confusion as well as realization started at the red hair's statement.

"What does he mean, Mimi?" asked Sora when she saw the pinkette's realization.

"Well, before we rushed over here Gennai had contacted us…"

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

' _I'm afraid the situation is much more grim than I had thought.' Koushirou, Mimi, Miyako, Takeru, Iori and their Digimons could see the stress in the old man's face and they began to panic._

" _What do you mean, Gennai-san?" Koushirou tried to asked calmly._

" _Yeah, what could be worse than having BlackWarGreymon and an unknown object out there plotting something against the Digital World?" Takeru frowned._

" _Not to mention targeting Taichi-san without a clear reason." added Iori._

_Miyako nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Aside from taking his energy and stuff…"_

' _You see… as soon as I separated from Tentomon and Agumon, I began to start searching for the answer to this phenomenon, including the fog currently covering the Digital World, the black object, and BlackWarGreymon. I thought that the black object had been the one to create the fog and BlackWarGreymon but I was wrong…'_

' _Go on, Gennai-san.'_

_Nodding, Gennai continued on. 'It is fade, but… I have found a dark presence coming from the mountains. Before these recent events it's presence was small, but as BlackWarGreymon became stronger and stronger, the presence also became stronger. This is when I picked up the whereabouts of the dark energy. And it is currently stronger than the fog and BlackWarGreymon's. What's more is that I think the black object and the fog were created by this dark presence.'_

" _But how did it became so strong?" Patamon asked while floating._

" _I'm not certain, but…" The group snapped towards Koushirou, "BlackWarGreymon and the fog was created by that dark presence from the mountains. BlackWarGreymon who then consumes dark energy from the fog also needs life energy…"_

_Miyako continued, "and that light energy is from Taichi-san, because Taichi-san is Agumon's partner and Agumon basically triggered the black object to transform into BlackWarGreymon…"_

_Mimi gathered, "...and BlackWarGreymon was getting stronger from those dark energy and life energy,"_

" _If BlackWarGreymon was getting stronger and the dark presence is also getting stronger as Gennai-san has said, then what if BlackWarGreymon is the middleman!" Iori concluded._

_Takeru's head snapped up. "Gennai-san! Which mountains is the dark presence at?"_

_When Gennai took a few moments to answer, the Children and Digimon already assumed the worst._

' _It's in File Island…'_

_o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

" **You children are so smart, it sickens me." Caligomon sneered.**

"So you created the black object and the fog so you have an intermediary to feed you energy! And that intermediary is BlackWarGreymon?"

"That bastard is basically feeding off Taichi!" Yamato gritted his teeth in anger.

" **That's right. One more thing about my servant BlackWarGreymon,"** BlackWarGreymon turned to look at the form of Caligomon. **"you feel attracted to this mountain right?"** The armored Digimon blankly nodded. **"That is because my orders to you when you were still an animate object was to bring me the Chosen Child you were feeding off and have him killed in front of me."**

His blood went cold.

Everybody else went quiet. Before, they still have hope to save Taichi because BlackWarGreymon had stated that he didn't know why he wanted their leader, but now when they have finally been told what the Dragon Man Digimon's purpose was, the could only assume the worst.

" **DarkCherrymon, you told me BlackWarGreymon had attacked you and instead protected the boy when you meant to kill him?"**

"M, my mistake, master! He simply put me off guard, I did not mean to kill the boy without your conscience!"

" **Hmm… no matter. It seemed BlackWarGreymon subconscious was to save the boy until I was present. That is his order, after all… isn't that right, BlackWarGreymon?"** At the remark, BlackWarGreymon was sent out of the cube that was holding him and Koromon. He landed on the ground at ease, the expression on his face unreadable as he started walking towards Taichi.

In the background he can hear the distress and curses thrown at him from the Chosen Children and their Digimons.

"No! Please, no!" the girl -Hikari was it?- pleaded.

"Dammit! Guys, Digivolve!" the boy with the goggles shouted frustratingly.

"We're trying, Daisuke!"

"We can't though! What's going on?"

He could also hear the laughter coming from DarkCherrymon and his… master. Caligomon was his true master, now he knows. Caligomon was the one who gave him power. All this power.

"BlackWarGreymon, stop!"

"BlackWarGreymon, don't hurt him! If you really see Taichi-kun as your master as you've said before then don't do it!" cried the glasses boy.

And he had been wrong.

The boy… Taichi wasn't his master. He was just a life force to feed off, to make him grow stronger for his true master. Besides, the boy treats him as an enemy doesn't he?

All the anger towards him…

' _ **You hurt my friends… asshole…'**_

' _ **Don't… touch Hikari…'**_

' _ **Let go of him you bastard!'**_

his annoyance at the boy and their fights…

' **Everything** _ **irritates you…'**_

' _ **BlackWarGreymon, wait! Don't kill him!'**_

' _ **My life wouldn't even be in danger if you hadn't kidnapped me in the first place, you big, stupid oaf!'**_

' _ **I said you're stupid! A stupid Digimon who can't even light a campfire properly!'**_

' _ **DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO.'**_

his sacrificial tendencies which were downright idiotic…

' _ **Let him go… you're after me, right? Let Agumon and my friends go. If you do that, I promise to come with you quietly.'**_

' _ **If you don't leave my friends alone then I'll**_ **kill** _ **myself!'**_

all of that combined was a wonder how he himself could think that the boy was his master.

…

…

BlackWarGreymon finally stood in front of the boy who was hanging with his hands bounded by the plant Digimon who was standing next to him.

"This is the end… boy." The Digimon raised his arm high above the boy' head, ready to struck down. Golden eyes meet the unafraid pair of brown. To his surprise, the boy smirked.

"You know… I think I prefer you calling me 'boy' than 'master'." He said, making BlackWarGreymon even more surprised, like the other times the boy had surprised him:

' _ **When you can't do something, you should let others do it for you.'**_

' _ **Were you cold?'**_

' _ **Hey! I said wait!'**_

' _ **Stay down, BlackWarGreymon. I got this.'**_

' _ **BlackWarGreymon!'**_

Those times, BlackWarGreymon felt…

Warmth.

With his clawed hand high in the sky, with the screaming, yelling and laughter in the background, as he stares right in the unwavering eyes of the bearer of the Crest of Courage, a voice boomed;

"BLACKWARGREYMON! DON'T HURT OUR PARTNER!"

And BlackWarGreymon struck down.

* * *

.

..

... **tbc**

**.**


	13. A Miracle

" _BLACKWARGREYMON! DON'T HURT OUR PARTNER!"_

The Chosen Children and Digimons could only watch as BlackWarGreymon struck down his claws. With such strong claws there was no way the victim could live.

And it proved to be true as his claws ripped DarkCherrymon's body in half.

DarkCherrymon's eyes faded as his life leaves his body, which then dissolves into data and Taichi would have fallen to ground if not for BlackWarGreymon catching him. The armor Digimon then proceed to put Taichi against a big rock so he could rest against it.

"BlackWarGreymon...?" The boy said breathlessly, the pain he felt from his wounds and fatigue was catching up to him.

"Rest.", was BlackWarGreymon's only response and this time Taichi complied without complaint, eyes shutting close as he lost consciousness again.

Staring at the scene, not only Caligomon was speechless but also everyone inside the barrier.

"What… just happened?" asked Jyou with Gomamon on his head who has his jaw dropped.

"Not that I'm not grateful, but BlackWarGreymon, _whose side are you on!?_ " Daisuke demands, clearly exasperated yet excited at the same time. The Digimon in question didn't answer and instead positioned himself to make a certain move.

"Hey, what is he doing?"

"Mega…" " _What!_ Wait! Wait a second!"

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!"

"DESTROYER!" The barrier that was holding the Chosen and their Digimons captive is quickly destroyed by the explosion from BlackWarGreymon's power. He then proceed to do the same to Koromon's barrier, and as soon as his own personal cage was destroyed, the small Digimon took no time in running towards his partner.

As the other Digimons and their partners land on the ground, a bit disheveled but alive nonetheless, Caligomon flew away only to stop high in midair.

" **My servant! How dare you betray me!?"** His roar only meets BlackWarGreymon's cold stare and response.

"You may have created me, but you're certainly not my master."

It seems BlackWarGreymon's statement only angered Caligomon. **"How dare you… HOW DARE YOU!"** His sudden roar makes the ground shook harshly. They could see the mist that is Caligomon's body became bigger and bigger, covering the already dark skies above them, making them even darker.

"Patamon, I think it's time to Digivolve now!" Takeru stared at Patamon for confirmation. The Digimon nods and tries to Digivolve, yet he failed as soon as he tried.

"I, I can't!" he wailed.

"I can't Digivolve either, Daisuke!"

" **Foolish humans! You are in my territory! Do you really think I am that stupid enough to let you have the advantage of reaching a higher level than me?"**

"He's got a point."

"Are you seriously agreeing with our enemy right now, Mimi!?"

" **Consider yourself lucky, Chosen Children, as I am now tired of all of you!"** As soon as the dark Digimon said that, the grounds around the humans and their partners split to reveal black spikes. Thankfully, each strikes of the spikes only managed to graze the humans because their Digimons who have higher instincts quickly pushed them out of danger.

" **Kukukukuku… and you get a special treatment, traitor!"** Unlike the others, the spikes coming from the grounds which BlackWarGreymon was standing on are bigger and the quantity exceeds his expectation, resulting in him slowing down from reaching Taichi and Koromon.

With the others busy avoiding their own booby traps, nobody noticed the ground in front of Taichi suddenly tore apart, creating other big, strong spikes that are ready to pierce his heart.

Nobody noticed, except Koromon and BlackWarGreymon.

When a pierced sound was heard, the ground suddenly stopped shaking and all went quiet.

* * *

Pain. He can feel pain and soreness running all over his body from head to toe. His head was pounding so hard, his stomach and back hurt, not to mention his feet was aching.

But all those pain from his body seems to disappear the moment he opens his eyes.

Suddenly there was pain coming from his chest, and this pain was worse and stronger than any other pain he has felt these couple of days.

This pain came as soon as Taichi opened his eyes to find Koromon in his arms and himself face to face with BlackWarGreymon.

His voice was hoarse and filled with a tone of disbelief. "Why…"

The scene was horrifying. BlackWarGreymon is kneeling in front of Taichi with more than three spikes pierced through his chest. If BlackWarGreymon wasn't there then the spikes would have definitely pierced through Koromon who has positioned himself in front of Taichi's chest. It was then that the Bearer of The Crest of Courage realized that his two Digimons has protected him from death again.

With shaking hands, the boy put his hands on BlackWarGreymon's metal cheeks, tears were gathering in his eyes. "You… you… why did you protect me?"

It took a few moments before the Digimon answered. He answered with his quietest yet most human voice Taichi has ever heard coming out of him. "Because you are my partner."

Taichi's eyes widened, tears are now running down his face. BlackWarGreymon's gaze turned to meet Koromon's red eyes. "…is that correct?" The pink Digimon was crying too.

"Yeah… yeah! You're Taichi's partner now because you protected him! You care about him and he cares about you!"

"Hmph… that's why you yelled at me before not to hurt him, huh…?" BlackWarGreymon cough harshly before slumping.

"BlackWarGreymon!" The way he slumped forward freed him from the spikes and with much force, Taichi managed to lay the Digimon down on his back. In the background, he noticed his friends are yelling, their anger making their own Digimon partners start to attack Caligomon, even if it seems to be futile seeing as the dark Digimon has an intangible body.

Taichi and Koromon knew they should back them up, but they couldn't take their eyes off BlackWarGreymon's eyes. His golden eyes which were fading in and out of consciousness.

"Sto…p… crying… boy…" Taichi sobbed.

"Don't… don't tell me what to do…" At his partner's retort, BlackWarGreymon's eyes softened. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, BlackWarGreymon… If only I were strong enough… If only I didn't need to be protected all the time!"

"Don't be… sor…y. Thanks to you… I… finally have… the answer…" Taichi and Koromon stared at him.

" _ **All this time I have been searching, waiting, for what I need. You could be the answer."**_

"You've… given me a… purpose… in life." He coughed harshly, blood coming out of his mouth. "P, protecting you… is my… purpose…" The Digimon then weakly lifted his arm to put it on Taichi's hands which were on his wrecked chest. "Thank… you."

Taichi shook his head, his face miserable and smothered with tears. BlackWarGreymon took one last look at Taichi's face before turning his gaze back to Koromon.

"Protect him… protect our partner…"

Koromon nodded as a response, his eyes filled with tears and determination. "I will. I promise."

And BlackWarGreymon's golden eyes fade to black.

* * *

" **Kukuku… such a fool. If he had not betrayed me, he would have lived much longer. A fitting ending for a traitor."**

" _Shut up._ " The humans and Digimons stopped to stared at Taichi and Koromon who are now strangely covered in orange light. Caligomon frowned.

" **You still have that much power? Tsk, if BlackWarGreymon had not died, I would have received so much more. Useless tool!"**

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!" As Taichi roared, the orange light became enormous, enough to blind the Chosen Children and their Digimons with it's brightness.

"You'll pay… you'll pay for what you did to BlackWarGreymon!"

**Koromon Digivolve to… Agumon!**

" **What!?"** The dark Digimon stared at the Digimon in shock.

"Koromon managed to Digivolve!" Iori cheered.

"But Digivolving into Agumon is not enough" Koushirou gritted his teeth, though he was in awe that despite having his energy ripped off of him and being bruised and battered all over, Taichi managed to make his partner Digivolve. He reasons it has something to do with how angry the leader is right now.

But no matter how angry Taichi was, the young man is almost completely drained so not long after Koromon had Digivolved, his knees buckled and he toppled unto the ground.

"Taichi!" Agumon hastily put his arms around his partner's waist to support him. Clearly making Koromon Digivolve took the last ounce of his energy. Seeing this, all his friends run towards him as well and quickly positioned themselves around him to protect him. They all glared at the dark Digimon, trying to intimidate him with all they can.

" **Oh, look at that. You have your friends and their tiny Digimons protecting you."** Caligomon laughed again before continuing, **"Well, as you can see I have no use for you anymore Child of Courage, seeing as you and my useless servant there had given me enough energy to last me a life time. It's time to say goodbye now."**

Taichi scowled while breathing harshly. "Caligomon… before your ugly minion GrimPhantomon died, I told him that hurting my friends was his worst mistake." He can feel Agumon, Sora and Yamato's grip on him. Mimi, Koushirou, Jyou, Daisuke, Takeru, Hikari, Miyako, Iori with Garurumon, Palmon, Gomamon, Veemon, Tailmon, Armadillomon around him while Biyomon, Tentomon, Palmon and Hawkmon floating next to their partners.

And he can feel BlackWarGreymon behind him. Even in his death, BlackWarGreymon, the Digimon who was created by darkness, who had haunted his dreams and hurt his friends, whose purpose in life was to protect Taichi, even if he had decided that on his last moments... despite all that, until the end he protected Taichi.

And now, Taichi will do what he has always meant to do as the leader of the original Chosen Children.

He will protect his friends and the Digimon World.

"Caligomon… I swear even if it's the last thing I'll do, you'll share the same fate as him!" The orange light covering Taichi shined brighter than ever, almost making Caligomon's dark, intangible body covered by the brightness of it.

**"AGUMON WARP-DIGIVOLVE TO... WARGREYMON!"**

At the sight of the Mega level Digimon, Caligomon growled. **"How!? How do you still have so much power!?"** And that's when he realized the Chosen Children and the Digimons were now also covered in the orange light. **"Impossible! You are all giving energy to the Child of Courage!?"**

"Don't worry, Taichi-senpai… I've got your back!" As soon as the boy with goggles said that, his own partner Digivolved into a Digimon they haven't seen in a long time.

**"Veemon Armor Digivolve to… Magnamon!"**

Soon the orange light and all their surroundings were covered in a gold light, blinding them all with it's brightness.

Ken's eyes widened despite the light. "Daisuke used the Digi-Egg of Miracles…" He was in awe by the sight of the Digimon who had helped him and Wormmon all those years ago.

**"Garurumon Warp-Digivolve to… WereGarurumon!"**

**"Biyomon Ultimate Digivolve to… Garudamon!"**

**"Tentomon Ultimate Digivolve to… MegaKabuterimon!"**

**"Palmon Ultimate Digivolve to… Lilymon!"**

**"Gomamon Ultimate Digivolve to… Zudomon!"**

**"Patamon Digivolve to… Angemon!"**

**"Tailmon Ultimate Digivolve to… Angewomon!"**

**"Hawkmon Ultimate Digivolve to… Silphymon!"**

**"Armadillomon Ultimate Digivolve to… Shakkoumon!"**

**"Wormmon Digivolve to… Stingmon!"**

Caligomon blanched with incredulity. **"WHAT! Impossible! How- how did you all Digivolve, you're all in my teritory!"**

"There's nothing impossible if you have miracles by your side!" Daisuke yelled before gasping out for breath and collapsing to his knees.

"Daisuke-kun!" shouted Hikari in worry as she and Ken each grabbed his arms to keep him upright.

"I'm fine… just dizzy all of the sudden.." The boy grunted while wiping a sweat of his brow.

"It's no surprise! I don't know how, but you basically triggered our Digimons Digivolve!" Koushirou exclaimed from behind him.

"Alright, guys, I think it's time to end this!" Yamato shouted while looking around to meet each of his friends' eyes. "You all remember how we beat Vamdemon after Wizardmon sacrificed himself?"

At that, WarGreymon took action, "You ready, Angewomon?"

Angewomon nods before motioning a move that soon creates a rainbow colored light from her hands.

"Here we go! Terra Force!" WarGreymon created his attack, to which the others soon followed.

"Giga Missile!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Horn Blaster!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Hammer Spark!"

"Heaven's Knuckle!"

The new Chosen Children's Digimons didn't know what the plan was but they continued following their predecessors and directed their attacks towards Angewomon.

"Top Gun!"

"Justice Beam!"

"Spiking Strike!"

Seeing the illumination in Angewomon's hands became bigger and bigger, Caligomon knew his dark powers were no match. So he began to ran…

Only to be stopped by Magnamon. "You're not going anywhere! Extreme Jihad!"

**"Gwaaaahhh!"** The bright light stings Caligomon's intangible body, something he didn't know could even happen.

When he tried to get away again, he was stopped by Angewomon this time. "A dark Digimon like you surely would know that darkness will always be defeated by light. The children's anger, my partner's anger, you will suffer through all of them. Begone, Caligomon! HEAVEN'S CHARM!"

As Angewomon's attack collides with Caligomon, he lets out another scream of agony. The bright light covered the darkness of his form fully, slowly but surely making him disappear.

When the dark skies, which began to brightened because the dark fog created by Caligomon slowly disappeared, the Chosen and their Digimons knew the dark Digimon is finally dead.

* * *

Despite the cheering around them, the now de-Digivolved Koromon and Sora knew one of them was mourning for the loss of his partner. So the red hair gathered the brunette in her arms, offering as much comfort as she can. She could feel her heart breaking when she heard her best friend's sniffles.

"Oh, Taichi…" The girl ran her hand up and down Taichi's back, while Koromon moved to put his head against his partner's chest. Soon, Hikari, Mimi and Miyako also surrounds the original leader, giving him hugs of comfort.

"We're sorry, man." Yamato put his hand on his best friend's head, rubbing it to assure him he was there if he needed anything.

"It's not your fault." Taichi gave a last sniffle before brushing off his tears. He feels so drained and miserable. "Thank you guys for everything." He gave a genuine but sad smile while looking at each of his friends and their Digimons' faces with gratitude. "For coming to rescue me, and fighting alongside Koromon, BlackWarGreymon and I, but there's nothing you can do… there's nothing we can all do right now."

"But… maybe BlackWarGreymon can be reborn in Primary Village! Right?" suggested Mimi while looking at Koushirou for confirmation.

"That's not possible, Mimi-san, since BlackWarGreymon wasn't a Digimon born from a Digi-Egg in the first place. That's why BlackWarGreymon didn't dissolve into data…"

"But-" "Daisuke, what are you dong?"

The group turned to find Daisuke who was kneeling next to BlackWarGreymon with Ken and Magnamon in tow.

Takeru frowned. "Daisuke, what are you doing there man?"

"Shut up… I'm tryin' to concentrate" He puffed out a breath.

"You should be lying down right now!" Jyou protests since the boy was looking dangerously close to passing out right now, but the younger man paid him no mind. The others soon followed Jyou's example and tried to reason with him. A series of protests went off but they were soon cut off by a voice.

"Daisuke…" Taichi's call was weak, but all of them heard him loud and clear. They snapped their mouth shut.

Daisuke, still being supported by Ken, only glanced at his senpai. His quietness made the older continue. "It's alright, there's nothing we can do anymore. Let's go home."

Seeing his senpai in Sora's arms, weak and still trying to be strong for them, only made the new leader angry.

"No, it's not alright! How can anything be alright if one of us dies in the end! Back then, the other BlackWarGreymon also died after saving us, yet we couldn't save them both! We're the Chosen Children, aren't we! So why can't we save everyone!?" Daisuke's response was silence. They couldn't deny they've lost so many Digimons, whether they were their friends or enemies-turned-friends. Still, despite everything he had done, in the end this BlackWarGreymon was only a lost Digimon, trying to find his purpose in life. Trying to find his partner, Taichi, all because some fate decided that.

"It's because we're humans, Daisuke…" Taichi said calmly. "and humans could only do so much." Daisuke watched as Koromon slipped his long ears around his partner's neck while Sora and Yamato's grip on their best friend tightened.

The boy then turned his gaze back to BlackWarGreymon's face. "I wanted to help."

"You've already helped much, Daisuke-kun. If it weren't for you, our Digimons couldn't have Digivolved and beat Caligomon." Hikari tried to cheer her friend up.

Daisuke shook his head. "I want to help Taichi-senpai." Clenching his fists, Daisuke meets Magnamon's eyes.

' _ **Let there be one more miracle.'**_

And suddenly, a bright light bursts from Daisuke and Magnamon.

"Daisuke!?" Ken shouted in panic, but he soon snapped his mouth shut when the bright light covering Daisuke and his Digimon partner went to cover BlackWarGreymon's body too.

Taichi groaned as he moved to stand up with Sora and Yamato's support. "Daisuke, what-"

"There's no point of having the Digi-Egg of Miracles if I can't create a miracle, right!" yelled the goggle head boy.

The group shouted as the light blinded them for a few more seconds before it dissolves into nothing. Being the first to see again, Taichi found Magnamon had de-Digivolved to Chibomon. When Daisuke swayed dangerously and started to fall back, Taichi ignored the pain coursing through his body and went to catch his kouhai before putting him on the ground.

"Daisuke, are you crazy!?" But Taichi was only met with silence. It was then that he realized whatever the boy had done, it took the last ounce of his energy and had made him passed out. "Jyou!"

Silence was his only response. Weird. If anyone decided to pass out, Jyou would definitely be there to examine them.

"Jyou, get your ass over here!" He turned his head in annoyance, only to find his friends' faces white as sheet. It took him a few seconds to realize they were, in fact not staring at him, but at something behind him and his unconscious kouhai.

When he turned his head around, Taichi's face mimicked the expression his friends were wearing.

They were all shocked to find BlackWarGreymon's body gone and replaced by a small thing.

It was a Digi-Egg.

A black Digi-Egg with gold spots on it.

And so Taichi didn't know whether to laugh or to cry because with Daisuke's stubbornness, another miracle did happen that day.

* * *

.

..

... **tbc.**

**.**


	14. A Promise

It was Saturday afternoon when the bell to the Yagami residence rang, making the occupant of the apartment stop their activities for a moment. The person who rang the bell didn't have to wait long for the door to open as she was quickly greeted by a smiling woman.

"Ah, Sora-chan, It's nice seeing you again!" Yagami Yuuko gave the red hair a smile.

"Good afternoon Ma'am." Sora, with Biyomon in her arms, bowed as a greeting before giving the older person two pairs of smiles and handing her a pale pink square package. "I hope we're not being a bother. We've just finished running errands for my mom and we thought because we're in the neighborhood we could visit-"

"But Sora, didn't you say you wanted to see Taichi because you miss him?" Biyomon's innocent statement was quickly cut when Sora covered her mouth in distress. "Biyomon!"

Seeing her son's friend's face turning as red as her head, Yuuko giggled, "Maa, maa. It's quite alright, Sora-chan. Why don't you come in and we'll have this cake together. Thank you for the trouble, by the way."

"It's no problem, Ma'am." Sora smiled and started to take off her shoes while Biyomon cheered for cake.

"And how many times do I have to tell you to just call me by Yuuko-san? _Mou._ " Taichi's mom huffed while putting the package on the counter.

Sora only replied with a polite chuckle. As she took her surroundings, she notices that it was quieter, unlike the last time she was here.

Sensing the young girl's confusion, Yuuko spoke, "Susumu is out with his friends and Hikari and Tailmon are buying groceries for dinner. Oh, and Taichi's taking a nap with Koromon right now, so how about I wake them up for you?"

Sora shook her head. "It's alright Yuuko-san, I'll do it." When she turns to Taichi's bedroom door, Biyomon made her way to Yuuko, offering her help. Sora wasn't worried because Biyomon helps her and her mother with housework all the time, so she only told her partner to have fun but still be careful not to create any mess. The bird Digimon grinned with excitement before turning her attention to Taichi's mom and the cake.

Sora didn't knock on the door as she opened it but she did open it slowly so she wouldn't make any unnecessary noises. The room was unlit but the light coming from the half-open curtain was enough to make her see the inside of the room she often visited. As usual the room was a mess, but not so much as before they all went to the reunion of BlackWarGreymon's death anniversary, seeing as after Taichi was brought home from the hospital, Hikari and Yuuko had cleaned up his room. His feet injury also didn't give him the option of going anywhere so he was stuck in his bed (minus going to the bathroom) for more than one week.

The Child of Love smiled softly when she was greeted by the sight of her best friend sleeping soundly, looking like a young man without a care in the world. The sight of him being so peaceful was much preferable to her than when he was kidnapped by BlackWarGreymon.

Shaking her head, Sora chose to focus on the boy who was sleeping on his back, each of his Digimons beside him. Koromon is currently next to Taichi's head while a Digi-Egg is between the open space of Taichi's waist and arm.

"BlackWarGreymon's Digi-Egg…" murmured Sora as she stared at the black Digi-Egg covered in gold spots. Not only Sora, but all of her friends are still confused as to why BlackWarGreymon can be reborn as a Digi-Egg, though the theory that he was reborn with Daisuke and Magnamon's power of miracles might help. One of them (Koushirou) said he will get to the bottom of this. Some of them (Yamato and Takeru) doesn't like the fact that the egg will be kept. Sora understood their train of thoughts though, because who knows? Maybe when the egg hatches whatever may happen can be different than all of their expectations: it might not be a Botamon being born but another evil Digimon. But ultimately, it was their leaders' decision and Taichi and Daisuke would not let the Digi-Egg be harmed in anyway.

Plus, Gennai had said that whatever may happen, Caligomon's presence has disappeared altogether the moment Angewomon's Heaven's Charm struck him.

Now they only have to wait until the egg hatches so they can decide what to do next.

Sora's thoughts stopped short when she hears her best friend mumbling and sighing. It wasn't long before the male's eyes twitched and started to open.

"Mmh… Sora?" Taichi's voice was deep with sleep, yet it made her smile.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Do you know it's eleven o'clock?" She teased while sitting down on the edge of her best friend's bed.

Taichi smirked (oh how she both likes and hates that smirk), "Well it's not a school day now, is it? Plus I'm sick." He said with a yawn.

Sora tutted. "You _were_ sick. Now you're just healing from your injury." True, as soon as the battle was won, Taichi had collapse _again._ Hypothermia and frostbite, the doctor had said and Taichi would have been in serious trouble if Jyou hadn't done what he could with his knowledge of emergency treatment.

Taichi was about to retort, but seeing Sora frowning, he shut his mouth. They were silent for only a few moments though -because Taichi doesn't _do_ awkward silence- so he slowly sat up while thinking _'Hell, this conversation's gone long past the expiration date anyway.'_

He sighed, "I'm sorry."

Sora stared, raising her eyebrow in confusion. "What for?"

"For not counting on you guys more. I know how mad you guys are because of how selfish I am…"

The red head took the brunette's hand in her own without breaking eye contact. "Yes, Taichi, I was mad. All of us were." the statement made the young man broke his gaze and look down at his sheets, but Sora was having none of that. She wasn't finished. With her other hand, she lifted her best friend's chin and continued, "But in the end, we're all more worried than mad. The thought of you hurting yourself all the time for us, Taichi… the thought of _losing_ you…"

"You're not going to lose me, Sora." They both know it's a false promise. Anything could happen in their next adventure, whether it's to him again. Or to her. Or to their friends. But they chose to believe in that promise.

At that moment, time seems to stop for the couple. Unconsciously, Taichi lifts his hand to cover the one Sora has against his cheek. His other one squeezing hers to show her that he understands; that if anything should happen again, they will fight _together_.

Her maroon eyes gaze into his pair of brown ones, searching for any lies but there were none. Only passion and determination. Satisfied with her best friend's answer, Sora acted on instinct, stroking Taichi's cheek -which has a faded scar on it- with her thumb while her other squeezing his other hand back. Slowly, the two moved closer and closer to each other.

The room was so silent that they could hear their heartbeats. That is, until Taichi broke it, "I have morning breath…" He could smack himself for saying that in the middle of the anticipation, but it was a very Taichi thing to say.

Unexpectedly, Sora's only response was "I don't care", and it was the last thing anyone said before the two pressed their lips together, sealing their feelings in a chaste kiss and-

"CAKE IS HERE!" Both humans screamed when the door barged, Taichi louder because he was pushed away by an embarrassed Sora and being unbalanced as he was, it resulted in him landing on Koromon.

The crash made the small Digimon wake up with a start. "Heav- heavy-!" Sora quickly pulled Taichi up.

The brunette groaned, "Sorry, Koromon!"

"I'm so sorry Taichi!" The girl frantically apologized before turning to the pink and round Digimon, "Koromon, are you alright?"

"I'm fine…" He moaned before snapping his eyes open as he remembered a distinctive voice saying the word food. "Did I hear cake!?"

"Yes, you did!" Biyomon, again with an innocent face and a plate of sliced cakes in her hands cheered loudly. Koromon soon joined her chanting.

"Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!" "Now, now, you too, don't get too excited or you'll drop the cake" warned Sora. "Let's just eat these in the dining room, okay?"

"Okay!" As the Digimon duo left the room, Sora turns to Taichi. "No cake for you yet, Taichi."

Taichi whined. "But- but cakeee!"

"Shush. You'll have it after breakfast, which I'm going to get for you. Wait here." The boy grumbled as he laid back down on his bed. He shut his eyes while pouting.

He thought the girl had left but when he felt a pair of lips on his forehead and opened his eyes to find the girl of his dreams so close to him, Taichi froze.

"Uh…" He can feel his face getting hot.

Sora too, was sporting a blush on her face, yet she smiled and said, "Don't push yourself too hard Taichi, or you won't make it to our first date."

Oh, he was definitely blushing now. "D, d, d, date? Wait, so you're-"

"Yes. You don't have to wait anymore, Taichi. I'll be your girlfriend." Her smile widen as she turned around and walked out the door.

When the door shut close, Taichi once again laid back and stared at the ceiling in wonder. "Huh…" He grabbed the nearest object and hold it in front of his face.

"Didn't think that would happen, huh, BlackWarGreymon?" Taichi held the Digi-Egg against his forehead as he closed his eyes and smiled.

* * *

.

..

... **tbc**

**.**


	15. We're Your Partner!

" _This_ is your idea of a first date?" Taichi's eyes twitched with annoyance. He was currently sitting on a bench in a park near his apartment, a Digi-Egg on his lap and a meat bun in his hand. Not too faraway, Agumon and Biyomon were playing on the playground.

All in all, the situation was entirely not bad, except for the fact that his girlfriend was currently bouncing a soccer ball with her legs. While not looking at Taichi to focus on balancing the ball on her feet, Sora replied, "This is my idea for our first _unofficial_ date." She moved to bounce the object up and down again.

"Unofficial?" The male raise an eyebrow as he munched on his bun. "Why, because I can't walk?" Though his words came out a blubbering mess, Sora understands him anyway.

"You _can_ walk, Taichi. But yes, it's because you can't go too far from your home yet. And it's a nice day for our date anyway, plus, you get a free meat bun." As Sora stated, despite the winter season, the sun was high up in the sky, shining warmth towards the people outside of buildings.

The boy swallowed before grumbling. "Nice. You get to play soccer while I sit here, and you get to pay on the first date. I'm losing my manliness here!"

Sora snickered, not paying attention to the ball dropping. "It's not funny, Sora!" But his red face and grumbling only made his girlfriend laugh harder. Taichi resorted to the only thing he can do: pouting.

Still giggling, the girl picked up her soccer ball and approach the young man who was munching once again, but with irritation clear on his face. "Oh, don't be such a party pooper, Taichi. I do expect dinner on our first date, _as soon as_ your feet is healed." She quickly said the last sentence when Taichi opened his mouth. He closed them again before huffing.

"Fine. But it's _dinner_ and _a movie_."

Sora smiled. "Deal."

"And no chick-flicks."

"I agree."

"And _I'm_ paying."

" _Okay_. And here I thought I'm the girl in this relationship." "Oy!" Taichi didn't just yelp at the insult but also because as soon as Sora was finished teasing him, she snatched his meat bun away.

"Hey, that's mine!" He tried to reach it while sitting down, which of course was futile because Sora was standing with her hand up in the sky.

" _I paid_ for it." The girl stuck her tongue out to tease Taichi, and hell if she thought he wasn't going to do anything about that. Though now he was laughing rather than being annoyed, "Why you little-"

But he stood up to fast, the sudden weight on his still weak feet made his knees buckle. Taichi yelped and Sora reacted on instinct. Both closed their eyes to face the impact, yet it didn't come. They opened their eyes to find themselves in an awkward position: Sora has her arms around Taichi's waist, her back dipped and dangerously close to falling to the ground while the latter was unintentionally leaning hard against the first with gravity pulling them in.

Thankfully, Agumon was there to push Sora up with his hands and big head while Biyomon was flapping her wings to fly as she stuck her feet in Taichi's jacket to pull him up from falling on top of Sora.

"Oi! What are you lovebirds doing over there?" A voice called, startling them out of position. As their position broke, Taichi quickly stomped on his leg, grunting while he grabbed Sora's arm and pulls, making them both fall onto the snow.

This successful fall however, resulted in Taichi to be the one landing on his back, with Sora on top of him and Agumon on top of her. Biyomon herself had flapped away from the danger of being squashed to death.

"Thanks a lot, Yamato." grumbled Taichi though he didn't take his arms from around Sora's waist.

The blond smirked. "Was that sarcasm or are you actually being grateful to me? You know, since thanks to me you manage to move onto second base with your girlfriend and all." Taichi and Sora quickly broke apart out of embarrassment.

"Mou, Yamato, why did you have to open your mouth? Things were looking great!" whined Mimi.

"Mimi-san, you can't actually expect my brother and Sora-san to do this outside in broad daylight, right?" Hikari sweatdropped, while Tailmon and Takeru nodded in agreement. Patamon and Palmon looked confused at the Child of Light's statement.

"What exactly is 'this'?" asked Iori with Armadillomon by his side.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Mimi-sama, although I support you in every way about Taichi-san and Sora-san, please refrain from traumatizing Iori!" cried Miyako, only to be consoled by Hawkmon.

Seeing his friends' antics, Taichi groaned, "Not that I don't like it, but what are you guys doing here?"

"How rude, Taichi-han." Tentomon frowned, well, it would look like a frown if he actually has a pair of eyebrows. "We're here to visit you to ensure your health." He floats while his partner helped Taichi up so he and Sora can help him sit down on the bench again.

"Well, that, and we want to see your Digi-Egg's progress." said the red hair technician.

Taichi sighed. "Thanks Koushirou. But as you can see, this little buddy isn't ready yet." The brunette picks the egg up before putting it in his lap and gently rubbing it.

"No worries, senpai, I'm sure it'll hatch soon." He looks up to face a smiling Daisuke and Veemon. They're right, he thought, because if BlackWarGreymon could be reborn as a Digi-Egg then there's no way he wouldn't hatch. And there's no way he'd be evil, because Caligomon is gone and the Digi-Egg is here thanks to Daisuke and Veemon.

"Thanks, Daisuke." When his senpai gave him a kind smile, Daisuke blushed. "H, huh? What for?"

"Did you forget about your miracle, Daisuke?" ask Jyou.

"Yeah! If it weren't for you, we'd all be dead, right now!" Gomamon said loudly making the Digimons cheered.

"And BlackWarGreymon wouldn't be reborn. So thanks, Daisuke-kun!" Hikari winked at him making him swoon.

Daisuke blushed at all the praises seemingly timid for a second. However, his brave and confident personality soon come out again as he bragged about how cool he and Veemon was. The group, being in a very good mood only laughed and continues to praise him again.

"Ta- Taichi-san, look!" "Humm?" At Ken's call the group stopped their antics and focus on the object in Taichi's lap.

"It's hatching!" said Wormmon, his eyes wide in anticipation. Sure enough there was a crack on the egg, and as soon as one appeared another and another showed until it was cut in half. There was a few seconds of silence before a small thing colored in black emerged from the egg, with the top half of the egg on it's head.

It was a Botamon.

No one dared to make a sound as the small Digimon looks to it's surroundings. It doesn't seem afraid of being amongst strangers but it seems to be looking for something.

It then noticed that it was sitting on something so it looked up to find Taichi and Agumon who was hanging on the bench, his head on the human's shoulder. While the others didn't dare to make a sound, Taichi didn't dare to move; his hands were lifted up in the air, useless. But when his brown eyes met with the Digimon's yellow ones, the young man began to relax.

"Hey…" He began with a soft tone, giving the small creature a kind smile.

"Bota?" The Botamon tilted it's whole body, body language showing it's confusion.

"What's it saying?" Daisuke whispered to Ken. His answer was a shrug.

"It's saying, 'who are you?'" all the Digimons chorused.

"Taichi…" Sora who was sitting next to Taichi, grabbed his free hand and squeeze it to comfort him. Deep down, all of them knew this would happen. How even though BlackWarGreymon can be reborn, seeing as he's a one of a kind Digimon, he may not remember everything that has happened.

Taichi squeeze her hand back while turning his head towards her and gave her a smile. 'Thank you, but I'm alright.', his smile said.

He gently lift his other hand towards Botamon, cautiously stroking him so the small Digimon would not be afraid and run off. But unlike all the Fresh Digimons, this Botamon seems unafraid of anything.

' _You were always too much of a daredevil…'_ Taichi thought with a smile. He turned his head to meet Agumon's eyes -which were twinkling- and they smiled at each other before turning their attention to the newest Digimon in the group.

"Nice to meet you, Botamon! My name is Yagami Taichi-"

"and I'm Agumon-"

"And we're your partner!"

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> Thank you so much for all the readers, reviewers, followers and all of you who favorited this fanfiction. I hope you'll all forgive me for the slow updates, bad grammar, etc...
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this.
> 
> Again, Digimon Adventure does not belong to me.
> 
> Have a nice day, people! Cheers!
> 
> Lou/Sparta-chan, out!

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So... this is my first Digimon fanfic! I apologize for the bad grammar, and if you readers noticed a lot of details from the Digimon series that are wrong, please forgive me, for I have not watch the great series in years! Thank you, and 'til next time! :3


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